Pua gives an update on the royal affairs

Posted by: Tamandua Girl / Category: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Oh boy did today suck, this is Pua by the way. Mom got me up and put a sweater on me. Okay I thought we were going for a hike but no. Boy was I mad when I found out. I clawed at the crate the whole drive and stripped my sweater off. So finally mom came in back and let me out and I paced instead.

Finally we arrived and we were early so I got to run around in the fields surrounding the vet place. That was great. Just wet but not to terribly cold. I haven't been out for awhile due to something called winter. We walked inside and I went into my crate and curled up for a nap.

Next thing I know they are waking me up and covering my belly in slime then poking at it with a stick. Well, they said they saw my bladder, spleen and lots of digesting food but no baby. Darn I was having fun pretending. You know people are extra nice when they think you are pregnant.

Finally it was over though I had to pose briefly for a photo shoot.

The matchmakers keep failing me, So I've given up on having a mate and just want the baby. So we've put word out for a baby for me to raise. However, this boy must be of royal blood like me. Then maybe I can raise him into a prince that may be worthy of sharing my throne. You can tell a Royal anteater by their Golden Pelage like mine.

Okay so here's some photos of lovely me and the court jester.

Laundry day sucks

Laundry day sucks

A little window sniffing
A little window sniffing

Trying the tomboy look
Trying to tomboy look

Passed out kitty
Passed out kitty

Jake wants out
Jake wants out
He gets locked in at night

Jake checking out the snow
Jake checking out the snow

Playing in snow
Playing in snow

Pouncing like a fox
Pouncing like a fox

This white stuff is everywhere

Jake on ice
Jake on ice


More Pua play with standing

More Pua play time. Was trying to see if the lighting was any better.


Bye bye
Bye bye


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Anteater Q&A

Posted by: Tamandua Girl / Category: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It's been to long since a blog post and was answering YouTube questions today and part way through I thought it would be fun to share.

PS buy anteater calendars they were professionally printed this year! http://www.livingwithanteaters.com/p/store.html

does it try to eat ants out of your nose in your sleep?
No but sometimes she will try to flick her tongue up my nose when sniffing my breath and giving kisses. Ears are fair game too.

Can you like litter box train them? Or do you have to let them go outside like a dog. If you have to take them outside, how do you know they have to go? Like to they start walking in circles and stuff?
Kind of. Pua is pretty good about using a pee pad but you could use dirt in a tray too. Pua just poops one a day or every other day. They tend to dribble some pee for marking purposes like rats do and can have accidents. Many often have bed wetting issues. Pua only wets the bed when she's in the washer or rarely wets mine if she's mad at me. I'd not let them outside as they can climb the fence easy. You could take them out on a lease but it's not the same as walking a dog.

How much does one cost in total including 1 month of food and medical things?
That's a tough one. Medical issues do not happen monthly but you want to be prepared. Some special things to keep on hand are vit K hots and B vit shots. Food I've estimated $50 a month but it might be more. I buy many things in bulk so do not buy them every month. Meat alone is roughly $30 If adding live insects instead of dried silkworm pellets then it might be more like $70 depending on the insects bought. This doesn't count treats.

how do you get them somewhere you need them to go? can you pick them up and carry them, or do they follow you?
I can pick them up but Pua can be very squirmy if she doesn't feel like being held(pretty much any time she is outside). She is happy to be held and cling to me inside.

Do you need to trim her nails ever?
I file them as I found trimming can cause them to split mostly on the big claws. The rear claws need trimming more. Her front claws can get really long and she still climbs etc just fine. I'm now working on filing them back a bit at a time so they look more presentable but it's merely an aesthetic issue and doesn't effect her welfare any.

Is she as soft and silky as she looks?
Not really. Not soft and silky like a bunny or something. She's not course. The hairs are smooth but some what stiff. Her belly and chest is soft and she feels nice when pet down the fur of her back.

Are their tails stronger than their feet?
Their tail is stronger than their back feet but their forearms are very strong.

Do they like to run a lot?
Pua likes to run when out for a walk in the woods and Stewie used to run circles in the living room every night but I'd say they do some running rather than a lot of running.

Do they eat spiders
They don't eat spiders. She did surprise me by eating a slug the other night though.

Pua plays with me

She gets more animated when playing on my bed but that's harder to film.

Oh no, it's toe pinching time

Oh no, it's toe pinching time

I just wanna give a toe massage

I just wanna give a toe massage

Hey dog, you want some pinches?
Hey dog, you want some pinches?
I told her she needs to be pregnant so she has an excuse for that belly, ha. Will have her checked after thanksgiving.

All toasty
All toasty
Pua was cold. 75F is sooo cold you know. So She needed some time under a blanket and the heating pad.

Belated happy Halloween from Jake
Belated happy halloween from Jake

I want Candy
I want Candy

SophistiCat
SophistiCat
Jake sat here for quite awhile checking out Pua's portrait. He knows good art when he see's it.

Recovering Kat
Recovering Kat
No they didn't remove her leg just the lump. She's doing great now and can have her stitches out soon. This was from the 14th

Jake sparkling
Jake sparkling
Having just come in from the rain.

Our fish
Our fish

A Maze-ing fish
A Maze-ing fish
Looks like you could follow the white through like a maze

Pua's Christmas wish list

A pretty pink blanket. Target has a nice full size pink one. Quilts
should be twin size or thinner full size, we need room for her in the
washer too.

Ants! Yes you can send her ants - http://www.antsalive.com/hornedlizard.htm

Clothes - she wears a baby/toddler 8 months to a year or so or dog size small-ish as dog sizes vary some.

Peace on earth, she insisted on including this.

Easy cheese, tomatoes, ketchup and blue cheese are always good.

Squeaky rubber dog toys for squirting cheese into

Mailing address can be found on the store page

Oh and buy her calendar ;)


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Kat's thing is gone

Posted by: Tamandua Girl / Category:

Not miraculously gone but we got rid of it. Kat got a good looking over and the vet did a needle biopsy of the lump. Skin tumors in cats are rare and when they do get them they are almost always bad. The needle biopsy showed Kat's lump to be atypical, otherwise known as odd. There were no cancer cells visible just some blood, dead cells and some white cells. She said that almost made it look like an abscess, though unlikely, or a cycst as they tend to die in the middle as they grow and lose blood flow to the center.

She said it for sure should come out and she was able to squeeze in doing that today. Once out it was still odd as it was enclosed in the thin skin cells or connective tissue stuff and was made up of a 1/4 in or so of edema(dead clotting blood cells) with a center of dead cells. She let us see it. Should have had my camera. Was about egg sized. She still thought it looked most like an old abscess though still really odd for one.

It will remain a bit of a mystery since I elected not to have it sent to pathology as I did not for see the results changing anything since we already took it out.

Was a long odd day. We killed some of the time waiting at my aunts house and while we were all in the kitchen talking the glass cover of the kitchen ceiling lamp fell. It was like the size of a ceiling platter and I saw it as I happened to be looking in that direction just drop and shatter all over. At least no one was under it.

Kat is drugged up but doing well. We just need to keep an eye on the area as she would need to go get drained if it fills up with fluid.


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Active Pua

Posted by: Tamandua Girl / Category: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lurking about up high

Lurking about up high
The lights were off. good flash on the camera.

Pua explores
Pua explores

Time to pick out a bed time story
Time to pick out a bed time story

Glowing anteater eyes
Glowing anteater eyes

And a fall hike
Time for a fall walk

Crossing the bridge
Crossing the bridge

checking out a stump
checking out a stump
Not the same one as the mushroom picture

Checking the trail
Checking the trail

Tree sniffing
Tree sniffing

Sniffing the other side
Sniffing the other side

Didn't get a ton of photos this time but she enjoyed herself and took an extra circle around the back part of the trail by running back down the road.

Little mushrooms in the moss
Little mushrooms in the moss

Mushrooms in stump
Mushrooms in stump

Kat in the condo
Kat in the condo
That was a nice surprise. When I first got her I made her a carpeted box. Just a open top box with a couple "mouse holes" in it. She loved that thing.

Kat and Jake enjoying a little sun
Kat and Jake enjoying a little sun
Taken through the window.

They surprised me by not changing positions when I came out.
Kat and Jake enjoying a little sun
Pardon the scraps left from tearing out the garden.

I got Kat from a rescue 14 years ago in December for my birthday. So she's 15. Our sweet old Kat is going to the vet tomorrow to get a large tumor checked. Okay she's more of a grumpy old Kat but she's my grumpy old Kat. So wish her luck.


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Pua, Jake & Halloween

Posted by: Tamandua Girl / Category: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Oh no laundry day

Oh no laundry day

Time for hugs
Time for hugs

Time for play
Time for play

And pinching
And pinching

Time for a nap
Time for a nap

Pua's nipples from'06
Pua's nipples from'06

Pua's nipples now '10
Pua's nipples now '10
Well, just her hairy chest

Pua's nipple with hair moved
Pua's nipple with hair moved
Parted the hair to show what Pua's nipples look like now.

Why are we looking at Pua nipples. Well why not, lol. The first were here "teen boobies" and the other is now. The other reason is we do not know if the attempt to get Pua pregnant at the end of September was a success or not.

I feel her signs so far are inconclusive.

She did not have her obvious monthly spotting but sometimes we seem to miss that.

She showed interest in her self soon as Mandua left and enjoyed her own company for a few days. This was a week early if it was from her being in Estrus/heat. She showed a tiny bit of interest in herself the 27th which would have been on time but that was it. Maybe she's just having fun or her hormones might be funky if she's pregnant.

I her belly is bigger and firmer but she is also a pound heavier than last weigh at 17 pounds so could just be her winter weight.

Now if you look at the pinching photos you can see a stain on her private bits there. This happens from time to time and I figured collected pee staining or vaginal secretions. Well she's had that every night since before Mandua left and I looked at some under the scope to see if was estrus fluid and only saw epithelial cells, no blood. They were orange, apparently stained by her pee. So could be increased vaginal fluids due to early pregnancy or could just be nothing.

So we will have to wait and see if she has any signs of cycling the end of November as if we are still unsure an ultrasound should show something at 2 months. Seems we could test for progesterone based on the one study but the hormones didn't spike enough until 2 months either.

Oh yeah so nipples. In cats the "pink up" but seems to me hers have had that white/pink tip for a long time even though not in her teeny boobies photo.

So the short version, nothing to report here.


And now, Jake is about a year old as we got him end of last November at about 3 months. He's a big boy now.

Jake and Kat
Jake and cat
He's as big as her now just not as heavy. Kat is a 15 pound Norwegian Forest Cat. Jake is 10 pounds but just as tall and long.

Jake showing off his long legs
Jake showing off his long legs

Jake chillin with the dogs
Jake chillin with the dogs

Bowl of kitty
Bowl of kitty
Jake took a nap in the half globe in the bunny cage

King of the world
King of the world

Here comes the bunny
Here comes the bunny

My pumpkin
My pumpkin

Guess my Halloween spirit was a bit miss placed.
My pumpkin


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