O’Malley? Do you really think Petunia wants your tail wagging in her face while she tries to nap?
“I am protecting her.”
Oh, I see. I’m sure she appreciates that.
Flapper, are you threatening the camera?
“It is threatening to disturb my nap.”
Yes, I guess it is. I will put it away so you can nap in peace.
Sweet dreams, nappers.
Let’s take a look inside the aviary to see what’s up.
Rescues Emilio and Victor have finally figured out how to use the astroturf ramp to get in and out of their tree trunk baby pool.
Victor shows off his big wings, and his bigger belly. He is a tubby chubby boy. At 9-weeks-old he is larger than Flapper. This is one solid pekin duck.
Emilio is more svelte and sleek, especially by comparison. He idolizes Victor and follows him everywhere. He is a very affectionate duck and loves to be held, but only if I hold Victor at the same time.
Here they are playing outside the aviary for a bit. That orange line in the background is the extention cord to Flapper Cam, which is now inside the aviary.
They are both sweet, cute boys and we hope to find them a great forever home. Until then, they’re making the most of their time at Flapper’s house.
Chewy is not sure what to make of the new boys, so he keeps his distance. Emilio follows Chewy a little bit, and I think it gives Chewy flashbacks to his last shadow, Juno the call duck. Chewy is trying hard to make sure he doesn’t get another shadow on his tail.
All the ducks had a great day playing in and out of the aviary.
O’Malley and Petunia enjoyed a dip in their clean pool.
“Eeps, shark!”
Then O’Malley did his shark impression to play a joke on Petunia. Nice one, Malley.
The sunny weather is expected to continue for yet another week in Seattle. We’re really getting spoiled! It’s been weeks since we had rain. And all the sunshine makes for a rare occurrence in Seattle: Beautiful sunsets.
Good night, everyone. Sweet dreams.
Note: Earlier today at the vet’s office with Meelee, I was sitting in a patient room while she had her ultrasound done. I thought I heard someone say “Chewy Magooey” through the wall, so I opened the door and said “Did someone just say Chewy Magooey?” Everyone stopped and looked at me for a second. That’s when I realized what an ODD question that was, especially if no one said Chewy’s name. But the receptionist admitted she was going through my file and admiring all the silly names of my pets. Normally the ducks have a separate vet, but when they have emergencies, they all go to the same all-night clinic. I’m glad I didn’t mistakenly hear Chewy’s name, as that would have been really awkward.
Meelee the “fuzzy indoor duck” had a bad week.
She went to the vet on Tuesday afternoon because she has not been eating well. She has had episodes like this for the past few years, and is slowly losing weight. She is on a good prescription diet for old cats with early stage kidney disease, but when she doesn’t eat, it gets scary. When she doesn’t eat, she gets her choice of anything in the world (sorry vegetarian friends, Meelee gets whatever she wants to eat, at any time). If she won’t eat the prescription canned food or packets, she gets Simon’s wet food. If she doesn’t like that, she gets tuna fish or chicken with broth. If that doesn’t work, she gets canned Friskies. So far one of those five options has worked most of the time, but she never eats very much.
At the vet on Tuesday afternoon she got fluids and anti-nausea medication and seemed a little better. Wednesday she did okay, but Thursday night she was in pain and vomiting, so we ended up at the emergency clinic until 2:30am.
By Friday morning she looked a little better and was out of pain, but she’s just sooooo skinny and her weight is not headed in the right direction.
Friday evening she hung out in the aviary and seemed to enjoy it. She is also eating a little better, so she’s more stable.
Saturday she was suckered back into the cat carrier, and we took her to the radiologist for an ultrasound. This will help decide if she has cancer, a blockage or inflammatory bowel disease. The results were just fine, so those bad things are probably not the problem. This is great news.
But we’re still not sure what the problem is. She has high-normal thyroid levels, on two different thyroid blood tests. But they’re both in normal range. I’m a little torn on what to do for her next. The cancer specialist cat clinic thinks an endoscopy might be a good next step, as gastrointestinal problems can lead to cancer. The thyroid specialist cat clinic thinks we should just treat her for hyperthyroidism, as that can cause all the gastrointestinal problems anyway.
I guess I’d be a little more clear if both clinics hadn’t recommended their own specialties as next steps. Know what I mean? I’d be a little more confident if one or both of them had recommended something/anything besides what they specialize in. I’m not suggesting that either of them is trying to sell me on an option, it’s just possible they both see what they’re used to seeing most often. And it’s my job to make sure I see what’s best for Meelee.
So… we might be going for a third opinion.
For the moment, Meelee is happily napping in the sun, having just snacked on some chicken juice (four other options were not to her liking). She is purring and snuggley and happy to be home.
And after a bad week, that’s a good day.
Miss Amelia Dingo
14-years and 1-month old
2.91kg/6.42lbs
UPDATE: Meelee is going to try the pills for hyperthyroidism for a few weeks and see if she responds well. In a few months, if she’s gaining weight and otherwise doing okay, we’ll think about the radioactive iodine treatment for her, so her human doesn’t have to give her pills twice a day.
“Do you still love me?”
More than anyone ever, buster. Why do you ask?
“I saw you hugging that other duck who looks like me.”
Oh sweety, he just needed a hug. I want Victor to feel at home while he’s here. But he could never, ever replace you, Flapper.
“Really?”
Oh, yes. You are my one-of-a-kind, super-special duck buddy, Flapper. You’re priceless and precious and irreplaceable.
“Yeah… I thought so. I wasn’t worried.”
Okay, good. Never worry, Flapper. I love you more than anything.
“Even more than french fries?”
Way, way more than french fries.
“Mom?”
Yes, Flapper?
“I love you more than french fries, too.”
Awww, thank you, Flapper. That means a lot to me.
XOXOX
Meelee went to the vet this afternoon. She’s doing okay, but she was dehydrated again. She is also still slowly losing weight. She’ll probably need fluids twice a week from here on out, to keep her hydrated. We’ll get results back on blood and urine by Thursday afternoon.
She weighed 7.10lbs in February and is down to 6.6lbs today.
She came home and ate well, and is now preening the vet cooties off of her fur.
A few people have asked about the fuzzy indoor ducks lately (also known as the cats). Oddly enough, they have been hanging out… outside. Now that we have the aviary, they can safely play outside when the ducks are hanging out with me in the yard.
Meelee stalks bugs in the aviary.
Simon gets his head scratched.
“That’s not a spider, is it?”
You’re supposed to catch spiders, Simon. At least in the house. That’s your job.
“But I don’t like them.”
“I’ll get it.”
Thank you, Meelee.
“You’re welcome.”
:: not thinking a single thought ::
In other news, we got a new used couch recently.
We don’t dare get a new NEW couch, because Simon likes to pee on things. (He has been to the vet and had a check-up recently. As well as through the years. It’s not medical, or at least not fix-a-ble. It’s just Simon.) We couldn’t stand the old stinky couch any longer though, so we found this used couch on craigslist and threw out the old one.
Then the countdown began. How long would Simon wait before peeing on the new used couch?
The answer?
13 days.
It’s okay though. This time we wrapped each couch cushion in a garbage bag underneath the slip covers. So at least this couch can be cleaned without permanently smelling like Simon.
That’s right, Simon. Enjoy your nap you little nerd. I love you, couch-pee’r.
So that’s how the indoor furry ducks are doing. Meelee is still having trouble keeping weight on and staying hydrated, so she’ll go back to the vet soon again for a recheck. We hope she can stay with us for a little while longer. She does okay, for an old girl.
Thanks for asking about them!
Victor and Emilio here are settling in to their new routine, as foster ducks at Flapper’s house.
Today they swam in their pool, found their treats and got a little too hot in the sun. Then they found the shade and everything was good. Tonight they didn’t want to sit on my lap separately, so we all sat together.
Emilio thinks Victor makes a really comfy pillow.
They’re both the sweetest, friendliest kids around. I hope we find a perfect home for them.
This is Emilio.
And this is Victor.
They are the two adorable boys who came to stay with us tonight until we can find them a safe forever home. They are about 8-weeks-old I think.
Their human took good care of them, but she couldn’t keep them. She got Emilio and Victor at the same time that her boyfriend’s sister got two ducks. They all stayed together in her boyfriend’s family’s yard. Then some sort of break-up occurred, as it often does with young people. The break-up left Emilio and Victor with no place to live. They have been staying in an apartment bath tub for the past few days.
This is a good time to revisit our top reasons NOT to get a pet duck. Here is a link to it:
http://mrflapper.com/blog/so-youre-thinking-of-getting-a-duck/
We never, ever recommend ducks for young people who don’t have their own homes. As much as they mean well and can be good caregivers, they just aren’t old enough to have stable, consistent homes for animals… especially ducks.
Luckily for Emilio and Victor, their human took good care of them. They are in good shape and have great feather quality and seem very healthy. They were getting the right kind of food, and were kept safe from predators at night. We will take a poop sample to the Vet’s office on Monday just to make sure they don’t have parasites that they might spread to my ducks. But I’m pretty sure they’re just fine.
You two? You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like. We hope to find you a safe forever home where you can live a long, happy life.
“I don’t know you, lady. But you seem okay to me.”
Thanks, Victor. You and Emilio settle in for the night, and tomorrow we will talk some more and have some treats.
Sweet dreams, little boys.
Petunia hung out with me a bit this morning. She is not really a lap duck. But she’ll put up with me now and then if I scratch her head feathers and tell her how sweet she is.
Years ago, she would get scared if I picked her up. But now she’s grown to tolerate me… and it’s possible she might even like me.
Thanks, Toony. I enjoyed our chat this morning.
Hey hey. You boys aren’t chasing Petunia, are you?
“Who us? Oh no!”
“We’re um… hanging out.”
“We might be trying to impress her a little bit.”
Good luck with that.
“Thanks!”
“What’re you up to, Mom?”
Well, I came out to tell you we might be getting some new foster ducks tomorrow.
“Oh really?”
Yep. I don’t know much about them yet, but they’ll be staying here while we find them a forever home. We’ll know more tomorrow night.
“Okay, Mom. Sounds good.”
You’re a good boy, Malley.
“I’m good too, right Mom?”
Yes you are, Choo Choo.
And Flappy? You’re the best duck ever.
More information on the new foster kids as soon as we know more. We’re supposed to meet them Saturday night. They will not be permanent residents here at Flapper’s house, but we do hope to find them a good forever home.
