I think I complicated things when I asked for help! 
We liked many of the names suggested. Thank you all for your great ideas. 

Since she has almost purple eyes

and she is a beautiful soft white 

....she will be Violet Rose!






WHAT DID YOU  DO ON ADOPT THE INTERNET DAY?

by Patty 
from Catcalls & Dogbarks

Monday night as I was writing my blog post for Petfinder's Adopt the Internet Day, I decided to include pets from my own area. I naturally went to Rescue Village first since I have been involved with them in various activities. I found some sweet kitties, a handsome goat, cute pups and then.....there she was! Little Crystal! A three month old guinea pig looking for her FURever home. I was NOT looking for another piggie! But I took a quick vote from my boys...and the decision was made. Crystal was coming home with us. So off we went yesterday and did the paper work. While I was busy filling out forms and paying, my sons, Cody and Andrew, held Crystal in the pet room. We knew she liked Cody because she peed on him! (On a towel) 

So now I have four piggies again. She has met Tooey and CG. Thea still needs to be introduced. I am hoping I can get her to live with CG so she can snuggle with someone. But for now, I have four cages. She has already gone from hiding in her paper tubes to wandering about her cage and eating and drinking. I am sure it was just meant to be. So even if no other pets were adopted (which I'm sure was NOT the case), one little piggie is now in her FURever home surrounded by more love than she will know what to do with! 

We are considering a name change and would love to hear your ideas! 

Here is the happy babe!

She has dark, almost purple eyes. 

She is very inquisitive - not the least bit shy!

She has a little rosette on top of her head.

Meeting CG.

(CG is the largest guinea pig I have ever owned!)

If you have any name suggestions, please leave them in the comments for me. 

Fun Guinea Pig Movies! 

And a rather impressive, show by an intelligent guinea pig!! 

Which of these tricks can Tooey do?

Patty from Catcalls and Dogbarks

Can you guess these Christmas songs?

You will find two lines from six different Christmas songs below. Guess what song they belong to and send your answers to my Catcalls shop. The winner will be sent a surprise stuffed animal in time for Christmas! A name will be drawn in the event of a tie.

Good Luck!

And enjoy the completely unrelated pictures along the way!

1. The virgin Mary and Christ were there
On Christmas Day in the morning.

2. Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.

3. That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
And with his blood mankind hath bought.

4. Saints before the altar bending,

Watching long in hope and fear,

5. Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While we raise our hearts in love

6. Gosh oh gee, how happy I'd be,
If I could only whistle (thhhh, thhhh)

By Patty

from

Catcalls and Dogbarks

A Cavy’s Christmas!

By Patty from Catcalls and Dogbarks

Christmas is coming, the pigs are wearing hats.

Please join the choir as they whistle, squeak, and chat.

If singin’ ain’t you’re thing, then jugglin’ will do.

If jugglin’s just too tough, then dance without your shoes!

But whatever you do....don’t FURget the prezzies!

All product photos can be found at Otter House on Amazon

Congratulations to Diana!!!

She guessed the 4th one!

FIND ME IF YOU CAN!!

I, Tooey, am hiding among my lilac friends! Can you find me?? The one who guesses correctly receives a surprise in the mail!!

GOOD LUCK!

Send your answer to catcalls!

October is Guinea Pig Month!

And this is quiz day!! Yes...this is YOUR chance to show your smarts when it comes to guinea pigs! There are ten questions. Please send the answers to my catcalls shop. The winner will choose a kitty or doxie from one of my shops. If there is a tie, I will use a very accurate method of choosing a winner. Draw from a sock.

Good luck! And enjoy the photos along the way!

1. Where did the guinea pig (henceforth GP) originate from?

2. GPs will live an average of 8-10 years. T or F

3. How many recognized breeds are there?

4. Which breed has long long hair?

5. Name one dietary supplement a pregnant GP should have.

6. Sows come into heat every 15-17 days. T or F

7. Their gestation period is 75-80 days. T or F

8. What vitamin is needed daily?

9. Pine chips are toxic to GPs. T or F

10. If you were Tooey, what would you do if I gave you a costume?

Aren't they cute??

I hope you enjoyed this month's features!

Winner to be announced Thursday morning!

Send answers to Catcalls

October is Guinea Pig Month!

Keeping your guinea pig healthy!

Guinea pigs are really very hardy little guys. They do not require massive amounts of tedious

attention-just some basic care to keep them happy and healthy. If you can provide all of these things, you are a good candidate for guinea pig ownership!

1. Keep your piggie's cage clean and dry. Pine chips, straw, hay-no cedar chips! They are toxic to guinea pigs.

2. Keep away from drafts! This is a big one. Once a guinea pig catches a respiratory illness, it is very hard for them to recover.

3. Keep their room at a consistent temperature. Gradual seasonal changes in temperature are not a problem. Just no abrupt changes. 60 - 80 degrees is suitable.

4. Allow plenty of fresh air, but no drafts.

5. Give fresh pellets made for guinea pigs, not rabbit pellets, and water daily.

6. Daily vitamin C is essential. They are like humans in this regard, needing outside sources of this vitamin. Fresh, clean, raw veggies and fruits are best.

7. Give your piggies plenty of light without placing him in direct sunlight.

8. Keep his toenails clipped. This is an easy task-just like clipping your own! Be careful to clip below the 'quick', the fleshy part underneath the nail.

9. Examine your guinea pig often to catch any lumps, bald spots, runny nose etc. before they get serious. Playing regularly with him will keep you more alert to any changes.

10. It is possible to transfer a respiratory illness to your pet. Be careful to keep your distance when you are sick and wash your hands before touching him.

If you notice any of the following, unless you are well versed in guinea pig care, talk to your vet! These may develop into serious conditions.

Not eating or drinking, discharge from eyes or ears, diarrhea, hair loss, weight loss, dull ruffled hair, dull or half closed eyes, nose in corner of cage with little movement or hunched posture.

Yes! You CAN teach your guinea pig to play dead!

But can you teach him to fly? I will let you know after I have some lessons with Tooey!

Of the 30 or 40 guinea pigs I have had, I have lost a few to the above illnesses, mainly in my childhood years, due to ignorance. Most of my piggies have lived 4 or more years. For the little amount of care they require, they have brought an abundance of fun and joy into our lives! I can't imagine life without a guinea pig!

By Patty from Catcalls and Dogbarks on Etsy

October is Guinea Pig Month!

And this week is all about the babes!

Having owned dozens of piggies in my life,I have been through MANY breeding sessions. And there is nothing more fun than baby guinea pigs!

Breeding should take place when the sow is between 4 and 6 months old. Any sow over one year old that has never been bred is in danger of complications. Prepare your young piggie by giving her a little extra vitamin C and calcium found in broccoli. Vitamin K is also important for blood clotting and can be found in carrots. Keep your boar in good shape! Fat boars can be sterile boars!

Sows come into heat every 15 to 17 days and can be bred at any time of year. Their gestation period is 63-72 days. Leave the boar in the cage for a month and then it is best to remove him as a sow can come into heat within a few hours after giving birth. That would be a no no!

When it is time to deliver, the sow will not waste time making a nest or finding any special place. She will just pick a spot and get down to business! As each pup comes out, she will break the sac and clean it up. They usually have 1 to 3 pups, but I have had up to 5 in as litter. Labor lasts 10-30 minutes. Wouldn't that be nice!

Now the fun begins! Pups are born with eyes open and fur! They begin moving right away and within minutes are wandering around the cage. They are quite carefree as the sow does all the work. As long as you are caring properly for the sow, it is unlikely that problems will occur. They will nurse for 4-6 weeks and should be eating solid food quite well by then. Separate the boys from the girls at 4 weeks to prevent unwanted mating!

The more you handle your baby piggies, the friendlier they will be. Skittish, nervous animals are that way due to lack of attention. If you have done your job, you can reach into the cage and scoop up your little buddy with very little scurrying and resistance.

This was just a brief tutor on breeding. It is a good idea to read up on everything to be prepared, but if you have a healthy sow, you will probably not be needed and can just enjoy the fun! In my 30 years of guinea pig ownership, there have only been one or two times things went awry. And one of those was due to a very young sow getting pregnant.

I love having babies around! They are truly one of my most favorite little animals!

Patty

from Catcalls and Dogbarks

PetsJubilee Virtual BBQ Bash

THIS VIRTUAL PETSJUBILEE BBQ BASH

IS DEDICATED TO

SHARI & KEN

Special thanks go to:

• Shari, for making this all possible


• Athena, for her artistic graphics and comedy


• Tammy, for her artistic work with scrapbooking and comedy


• Diana, for story line and coreography


• All the Petsjubilee forum ladies for getting all these pictures together
  
  

October is Guinea Pig Month!

(That's just my own declaration!)

This month I'll be sharing some interesting and fun facts about my pets. Starting with ...their name!

Guinea pig is the common name for cavy. They originated in South America. These rodents have no visible tail, four toes on the front feet, and three toes on the back. They are neither from Guinea nor are they pigs. They are said to have gotten their name because they squeal and were sold by British sailors for a guinea, an Old English coin.

If they are properly cared for , they will live 5 to 7 years. I have had several live to that age. They are strictly herbivores. Plants only, please!

There are 11 recognized breeds of guinea pigs at this time which is the focus of today's post. Within each breed there are 23 varieties which include a number of colors and color patterns. Silkies have longer smooth coats, but the head and face are not covered like the Peruvians. Satins have a hollow hair shaft that gives the hair a nice sheen. Teddies have short wiry hair. Abyssinians have rosettes or tufts,and Americans have smooth short hair.

Here we go!

Teddy Satin

Silkie

Silkie Satin

White Crested

Peruvian

Peruvian Satin

American

American Satin

Abyssinian

Abyssinian Satin

And what have we here???

Ahoy Maties! Yo ho ho-be sure and stay tuned for next week's post about me cavy friends!

Ready for your quiz now??

Posted by Patty from CatCalls & Dogbarks