•·.·´¯`·.·•The Tater Tots Family•·.·´¯`·.·•

[Nela]

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[align=center] Hello and welcome to the Tater Tot's Family blog. In this blog you will get to know our family and enjoy the craziness. We hope you join us and share the tears, fears, laughter and overwhelming love experienced in our family. Whether you like to browse through pictures, like to read funny annecdotes, or enjoy more detailed stories about the pets and our personal experiences, I'm sure you can find something here to enjoy. Please leave comments when you can and let us know if we've made you smile at all![/align][align=center]
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Jeff and I (also known as Nela on the forum) live in the Netherlands. I am originally from Montreal and moved here to be with him. Surprisingly enough, we met on one of silliest web sites ever and it just clicked between us. Neither of us really thought anything of it at first, but before we knew it, we were meeting in person. Now, we do share 14 years between us but if you know us, you know that that really doesn't mean anything at all since we are just as silly and crazy as and about one another. We like to do things such as playing board games, video games, going for walks, and snuggling up and watching movies. We are both pretty quiet and prefer small groups of friends to large crowds. Jeff is the easy, pacific guy whereas I am the hot-headed passionate girl. Together, we appease and enflame each other.[/align][align=center]
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Houdina is our 3 year-old sweetie. I got her from a pet store while I was in Montreal. I was there to get rabbit food but Houdina had decided she was coming home with me that day. As I was checking out the food, she grabbed my basket and refused to give it back until I gave her a thorough petting. She purred happily and stole my heart. Being that I had rabbits, I was really happy about the fact that she didn't play with her claws and so, I took the plunge and decided to attempt owning a cat.

Houdina was named the day I managed to lose her in a itty bitty bathroom. To this day, I have no idea where she hid, nor how she managed to escape. She is indeed named after the famous Houdini. Since then, Houdina has taught me that she is great at learning to open and escape things. It's a really good thing she wasn't gifted with thumbs!

Houdina is a gentle soul. She was raised with rabbits and adores them. She eagerly rolls about in front of them in order to get their attention. It was also Houdina who alerted me to that horrid day when my Wiggles fell ill and died. Houdina has also nursed abandoned kittens and stays by my side when I am ill. She's a beautiful girl and there isn't anyone who doesn't like her.

She's also the sneaky one of the bunch. Just before moving here, I got the cats collars with bells to warn us of when they are near the doors since we were going in and out constantly. She decided she wasn't a big fan of them and found all sorts of ways to get out of them. Not only does she get out of hers, she also helps Baloo get his off. Once, both cats were missing their collars and I searched the house thoroughly and nearly gave up when I found them both nicely tucked under my pillow. One day, she proceeded to remove her collar and walk away happily with it in her mouth to hide it in her playhouse. When she realized we were watching, she handed me the collar and allowed me to simply put it back on. Just the other day, I noticed she was missing her collar only to be informed by Jeff that he had found the collar outside. Outside?! She doesn't go outside? Yep, Houdina had thrown her collar out the window in the hopes that we wouldn't find it...

That girl![/align][align=center]

Baloo... Oh dear what to say about Baloo... Well, let me start off by explaining how I got him in the first place. Baloo was actually found in the trash with his siblings by a passerby. I was fostering and running my own 'rescue & rehoming' thing and was contacted by the veterinary technician that heard of them. The woman could not keep them because her daughter was severely allergic and they could not keep them at the clinic so I took them in.

They were 3 in total and I must admit, I found the other 2 much cuter at the time. Baloo was the only 'solid' of the 3 and the tiniest. He was really terrified when I got them and he was bossed around by the others. Unlike his siblings, he didn't play at all and preferred to hide in the darkest spot he could find. When the time came to rehome the kittens, I considered keeping one of them thinking Houdina might enjoy the company. That idea was considered more seriously when a young woman asked to adopt to of the kittens. Faced with the decision of which I would rehome, I decided the siblings would be rehomed together as they were much closer with one another.

That was the day I thought Baloo would die on me. Finding himself alone, Baloo not only panicked but he refused to eat or drink. It was a pitiful sound to hear him cry the way he did. Before long, I gave in and cradled him at all hours to bring him comfort. Together, we would fall asleep and if I stayed with him, he'd eat and drink. When I needed to get my house chores done, I simply tucked him into the hood or the pockets of my hoodie where he would sit quietly. I did try to rehome him. I simply could not find anyone I trusted to give him the home he deserved and before long, I was putting up his Christmas stocking with Houdina's. I named him Baloo because he often played on his back with his paws in the air, making him look like a bear cub.

Baloo will always be a scared and sensitive cat. For over a year, he wolfed down food like a maniac from the fear of starving. He has a bad case of separation anxiety and the veterinarian noted just how quickly he stops eating and drinking if left alone. He doesn't trust strangers easily and is especially nervous around men. I was absolutely surprised at how Baloo reacted when he first met Jeff. He simply walked over to him and sat on him, purring as Jeff scratched behind his ears happily. I was extremely nervous about bringing him here from Montreal but leaving him behind was simply not an option. Surprisingly enough, he was perfectly fine. It was Houdina that was more concerning.

Nowadays, he's getting used to people more and more. With the family coming over often, he now greets people and lets the children play with him. I never would have expected him to play nearly as much as he does now. He's nearly 2 years old now and you'd think he's part dog for how much he loves to play fetch. Baloo can play fetch for several hours a day. Every morning when we wake, we are greeted by Baloo holding a toy of his in his mouth, looking at us wide-eyed, eager to play. It should also be noted that we often wake under a pile of toys as well. You should also know that if ever you come over and open a closet only to find yourself confronted with a bunch of toys neatly piled up in the centre, it was Baloo's doing.

He is definitely the family brat. He loves to drive us and especially Houdina up the wall. I sometimes call him a Tasmanian devil. He's also one of the squeakiest and most vocal cats out there as well. If ever you call me on the phone and wonder what those strange noises are in the back, please know that I am not strangling a mouse, it's merely Baloo seeking attention. By the way, Baloo has grown to be one of the most gorgeous black cats out there. We always get comments about his physique. His slender yet muscular body, shiny black coat, and kitten eyes (which have a bluish tint) always turn heads.
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[Nela]

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The family would not be complete without a few bunnies of course! Smores was purchased from a pet store in June, about a month after arriving in the Netherlands. He's about 3 months old and probably a mixed breed. I expect he'll be quite bigé Smores is a terribly handsome boy and, though we're not supposed to play favorites, Jeff has a definite soft-spot for this boy. Smores is the easy-going love bug. He loves attention and he basically allows us to do pretty much anything with him. Smores is a real boy though and so he is quite the mess-maker. He absolutely loves shredding things and I'm pretty sure he'd chew through the house if given the chance. Smores got his name due to his coloring and indeed is named after the treat. The light brown for the graham cookies, the dark for the chocolate, and the white for the marshmallow. He's an absolute joy to have.

Maybelle is exactly what I didn't think she'd be. Hihihi. We were looking for a girl to bond with Smores (after his companion -Ashylnn- passed away suddenly) and I just loved the pictures I saw on a local ad posted by a breeder. She is a blue-eyed white german lop, and should grow to be between 6 and 8 lbs. I was expecting to get a sweet/gentle/delicate/girly bun... Maybelle is a character. She might only be a few weeks old (10 now I think) but she sure has bunnitude! Wow! This girl will thump at you if you even look at her. She gives us the butt more than anything, and just adores flicking us off with her back paws. She's really adorable though and she has the most gorgeous blue eyes. Her attitude really makes us laugh and we have learned to not offend the poor thing by touching her or looking at her. Hihi. Really though, this feisty girl is a riot and I'm really glad we have her.

Giggles is a special bunny to me even though we've only had her for a few days. See, I really wasn't supposed to get another bunny. In fact, I didn't want another. I told myself 2 would be more than plenty and I would prefer spoiling those we have than getting more. Of course, that was until I came her ad on a local site. Giggles, a 1 year-old japanese harlequin mini-rex, was being rehomed by her family since she was no longer wanted. After getting Jeff's permission, we drove down to pick her up. Now, I had noticed something right away about her eyes that drew me to her in the first place and it was much stronger when I saw her in person. In fact, this girl has the same look in her eyes that my beloved Wiggles (my heart bun, the one who started it all for me) had.

Giggles wasn't found in the best of living conditions. I doubt she had much (if ever) run space at all. She wasn't in the biggest hutch and she was in there with another bunny that was twice her size so that took away from the space even more. To add to it, she clearly had a broken or deformed toe and nails that were much too long to be comfortable. She was too skinny and pretty much petrified. She is now home where she belongs and I have a special affection for her. I'm very happy to have a mini-rex again and it's nice that she is the first I can actually approach since the loss of Wiggles without breaking down in tears. As you've probably guessed, she was named in honour of Wiggles and because I suspect she will make us giggle plenty in the future. She's starting to break out of her shell and she has a particular interest in Smores so we hope to bond them in the future.

Yes, snails... I've always loved snails and I was already considering them as pets when I found one with a bunch of snail eggs while I was gardening. Unfortunately, I had squished quite a few of them but I did save those I found intact and placed them in the new 'snail palace' At this moment, I have lost count of how many snails I am at to be honest. I have been adding them progressively as the weather permitted. I have found several with damaged shells so I decided I should keep them while they repair their shells since I have lots of calcium on hand. I named my first snail Mercedes and I intend to name the others I will keep with names such as Porsche, Ferrari, Mustang, etc. I have a few c. Hortensis snails but I also found other species yesterday. I will have to update you guys about the snails as I learn more about them. Right now, they have been laying eggs left and right so I might have a few hundred more soon. Have you ever seen snail eggs? Ever seen them mate? Who knew snails could be so interesting!

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[Elf Mommy]

I adore your blog!!! The title, the look, the stories! What a great start! Thank you for starting it! I'll be waiting for the stories!

 

[Nela]

Awww thanks Minda, means a lot that you looked and enjoyed it!

 

[Nela]

I meant to add this to the start but I cannot now so I will post this here:

I nicknamed us the Tater Tots simply because of the dutchies' love of potatoes. That and the fact that I found it cute... :biggrin2:

 

[Nancy McClelland]

love it!

 

[Nela]

[align=center]Remnants of the ball that once was...

Yesterday, we went shopping and I decided to get Maybelle one of those wicker balls for her to play with. I gave it to her as soon as we got home and, of course, she thumped up a storm. After her endless grunting and 'hmph'ing, she started to box at the ball so I left her to play.

This morning, Jeff woke and went to check on the bunnies. He was surprised to find a piece of string on the floor and was wondering where it had come from. He figured one of the cats must have brought it down but then it hit him... That string wasn't string. In fact, it was a piece of what was once a ball. Maybelle just sat there, proud as can be.

The pictures show the destruction... That ball never stood a chance :

What? Was I NOT supposed to destroy it?

There's nothing to see, I swear!

Nope, nope, that's not what you think it is...

See, it's outside! It wasn't me!

You never give me any toys!

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[usawan]

wow maybelle is beautiful ! i love those blue eyes. you keep snails ? ahh as a kid i used to keep all sorts of bugs and things, but snails were my favorite :biggrin: definitely going to keep up with your blog !

 

[Nela]

[align=center]Today was a big day for the Tater Tots. With serious health problems arising, it became urgent that the bunners be housed outside. Luckily, the new hutch had arrived earlier in the week so all we needed to do was get the material to adjust things. We bought more mesh, latches, locks, etc.

While we started on the hutch, I put Maybelle and Smores in the divided playpen since I hadn't let Maybelle out as much (she does have the 2-story hutch to herself that is why :wink). As soon as I put Smores in his half, Maybelle started trying to bite him through the mesh and scratching at it angrily. Smores just kept playing in his tunnel and paid her no attention. Suddenly, Jeff got up reeeeally fast and I turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of Maybelle who had gotten to Smores by pushing the mesh enough to pass under. :expressionless She was terrible! Although Jeff was holding her down, she was trying to attack Smores who just sat there looking quite stunned. Well it took both of us to get them away from each other and Maybelle did get a nip in but luckily she only got his fur. Those two are so not friends! :grumpy:

I put her back in her hutch where she looked mighty proud of herself and put Giggles in the playpen instead. Luckily, Smores and Giggles aren't aggressive in the least with each other and we were able to resume our work.

Several hours later, we got the hutch assembled and moved them both into the shed after having figured out that we could use the same mesh we have for the shed windows for now. We will have to close them up properly when the colder weather starts but with the mesh in place, the ventilation sure is better. I'm very happy with everything right now.

Here are some pics of how things are at the moment...

The new hutch. (It is two separate hutches right now but in the future, if they bond, the floor opens up to become a large 2-story hutch)

Maybelle in her own hutch:

Both hutches in the shed:

Giggles in the top half (she is full-grown):

Smores in the bottom half:

The meshed windows on the shed:

Now we need to find litter corners and other accessories for the hutches. We went yesterday but they were out of everything basically :rollseyes I have to buy some good air tight bins to store their supplies in as well. Anyway, I think this is really neat and I am really happy with the new hutch. Of course, we'll be adding some sturdier latches to close the doors better than those hearts. The good thing is the shed will be locked as well except during the day when I am home since I will be leaving the shed doors open. They are looking quite comfy and I will be able to get off the cortisone in a few days. Phew!



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[Nela]

[align=center]Usawan,

Awww glad you like Maybelle. She is beautiful - and she knows it. LOL. Yep yep, I just started keeping snails actually. I have much to learn still. They seem to be doing well though still they are laying eggs left and right! I just found some worms a few minutes ago to put in with them so they can eat the snail droppings. I have planted lettuce in their habitat for the snails to feed on. It was cheap really, about 1.50 euros and it looks nice :biggrin2:

This is what I have them housed in:

And what it looks like inside:

It's really quite big and we got it at a bargain price. 35 euros for a large 'greenhouse' which looks really cute (like a treasure chest see) and it came with a bunch of flowers as well. I was looking for something a bit more creative and decorative than the average tank. I'm glad because if needed, I can take it inside and it will look neat as well. If ever I tire of snails, I can still use it for other things. I think it worked out great in the end. It really was just more trouble to fit it in the car [/align][align=center]**Sorry, edited it about a dozen times to resize the pictures properly**
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[Nela]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it didn't work :expressionless :grumpy:

 

[Nela]

I just went to check on the bunnies and all is looking great. They happily greeted me - well not Maybelle of course!- and were quite active. I've left the shed doors open now and I'll probably install the latches later on.

 

[usawan]

oh wow that greenhouse thing is really cool ! i'd never guess it was full of snails ! it looks like just a nice piece of garden furniture. those are some spoiled little critters

are you going to release some of the babies into the wild once they hatch out ? you MUST post pictures of the tiny baby snails...they're so cute lol.

 

[Nela]

Lol Sebastian, I was just out now taking pictures for you Yep, I will definitely release them. I will probably take them out to a relatively safe spot by the lake. IF they hatch that is. There are soooo many eggs in there :shock: LOL. I think I will have to reduce my snail population in the near future Won't be long, going to upload the pictures so you can see what they look like.

 

[Nela]

[align=center]Some snail pics I took for Sebastian and also for me to see where I'm at in the snail department...

Some of the larger ones doing the... tango? :

A little one :biggrin::

Peekaboo:

Snails aren't always as slow as you think... Here I turned around for a few seconds and caught these trying to escape:

Is snail slime good for the skin? :

One of the snails with a damaged shell. I intend to let it (and the others with damage) stay until it can repair its shell and I will probably release it after that:

A nice yellow one (I have at least one more yellow but I couldn't find it):

All together now:

And the cute little ones (those I could find!):

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[usawan]

baby snails !!! ahh so cute and tiny, i love how transparent they are. you have some really interesting shell colors ! i love the yellow...i wish that i could find some snails here to keep, watching them glide around is really relaxing i think. i used to let them run around my hands too lol. the slime is so cool and it felt so nice on fingertips. i did a project on snails in grade school and had a huge fish aquarium full of them, and i used to love watching their little feet on the glass. some of them really are fast ! i thought about getting aquatic snails but i don't have the space for a tank...maybe someday :biggrin:

i love the closeup peekaboo shot...little snail antennae :rofl:

 

[Nela]

Hey Sebastian, glad you are enjoying the snail pictures! Hehehe :biggrin2: I'm finding them really interesting. They sure seem comfy right now. Some members on a snail forum told me to remove the rocks so they don't crack their shells if they fall. I'm still on the fence about it really since they seem to be enjoying them and I'm trying to make the habitat look as natural as I can. I think i will put more leafage in to break their fall and leave the rocks in but I'm not 100% sure yet. Oh by the way, I noticed that at least one of the snails with a damaged shell is healing very well :biggrin2:

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Jeff called the vet for the bunnies' shots. We are waiting to hear back from them to set up an appointment. I will be relieved once that is settled.

 

[mistyjr]

I like your blog!

 

[Nela]

Thank you Misty!

 

[Nela]

Maybelle is going soft on us... Yesterday, she allowed Jeff and I to pet her. Not only did she let me pet her, she completely flattened as well AND tooth purred :expressionless Maybe it has to do with them being outside. Maybe it feels more familiar to her so she isn't as jumpy. That, or she's trying to trick us into having our fingers chomped off the next time

Giggles is slowly adapting. She still goes very wide-eyed and freezes but she relaxes once you stroke her cheeks and ears. She's eating and drinking well so I am happy about that. Lil missy is also spraying though :grumpy: I want to get her spayed soon but I also want to win her trust more before getting it done so she can be a bit less stressed. We'll see... There are a ton of flies in the shed and that is really making me nervous so I don't want her spraying and getting the hutch all dirty. I'm thinking maybe I should figure out some sort of natural repellent or something to get rid of those flies.

Smores is a total goof. That boy just loves everything. As soon as he hears our footsteps, he's at the door, trying to stick his nose out of the tiny mesh holes. He binkies and runs and hops and destroys things happily. He even hopped out of the hutch the other day and started running around the shed. I can't wait til he's big enough so I can let him run outside in the yard. I still have to figure someway to block off the hedge though :confused2:

We have a kitten around here who is very interested in the rabbits. S/he is friendly with us and it's definitely curious about everything. The kitten tries to come visit us but Houdina really really does not want him or her near the house. Lol. Luckily, the hutches are meshed so the rabbits are out of reach. Even if the shed doors are open during the day, cats can't scratch them or anything. My only concern is the rabbits getting spooked and getting stressed but they can run and hide so they should be okay.

I'm very blessed that Jeff is such an animal lover and good man. He helps me with everything because apparently, even if they are outside, I am still extremely allergic. I'm hoping the allergies will get easier to deal with over time once the exposure dies a bit. Since I had them in the house for weeks, I am highly reactive right now. It's nice because, at first, I thought Jeff accepted the rabbits because of me. However, he likes them just as much as I do and I see him sneaking off at times to go talk to the bunnies. He and Smores have a special bond and I know Jeff is trying to gain Maybelle over for sure as well. I'm lucky too because I was sure his mother wouldn't approve of so many pets, especially taking over the shed to house them, but she doesn't leave here without saying bye to all of them. It's just so nice to not have to be so defensive anymore...