Walter the Hamster Dies

Kate's hamster, Walter, died this week. Rachel and I found him in the cage. We were really sad. We didn't tell Kate right away because it was already bed time and the next day we were all going to be running around a lot. I wanted to tell her when we'd have time to sit and talk about the news without feeling rushed.

So, I told Kate today. This was our conversation:

Me: Kate, I have some bad news to tell you.

Kate: Some bad news and some good news?

Me: No. Only bad news this time. Walter died.

Kate: For real?

Me: Yes. I'm really sorry. He was a good Hamster.

Kate: I love it when he runs on his wheel and looks at me with his cute face.

Me: He was really cute when he did that. I'm going to miss seeing him.

Kate: Can we have a funeral?

Me: Yes. This afternoon we can bury him in the back yard.

Kate: Under a tree, so he won't get too hot?

Me: Yes.

Kate: Can I put the box in?

Me: Yes.

Kate was quiet for a minute and then: Walter died and now he gets to have babies!

(Kate has been very interested in Walter having a baby ever since she got him in June. We've explained that he's a boy and can't have babies, but it was a constant speculation on her part that he might.)

Me: No. When animals die, they can't have babies. Boy hamsters never have babies, but girl hamsters don't have babies after they die.

Kate: Now Walter can't do anything except be dead.

Me: Yes. But, we can remember all the fun things he used to do.

Kate: He didn't even make it to his birthday. He died while he was still a baby.

After that we read part of a book I borrowed from preschool called Lifetimes: The beautiful way to explain death to children, by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen. It's a really good book. Kate liked it, but got restless mid-way through.

This afternoon we buried Walter. Kate picked out a good spot under a tree and we put a big rock by his grave to mark the spot.

The Snowy Fall

Since I've put up some hamster posts, it seems only fair that I also put up some cat and dog posts. This one is about our cat, Nikita.



We adopted Nikita from an animal shelter in Fargo, North Dakota in January 1996. She was about two years old at the time. When we went to the shelter the woman said she only had one cat and that it wasn't available for adoption because it was a mean cat.



A mean cat! Who ever heard of anything so absurd? All cats are sort of mean; that is just part of cat behavior. And they are also very nice and warm and soft and snugly, but not when in cages at shelters. I decided the woman just didn't understand cats and we adopted Nikita that day.



I love Nikita. She and I get along wonderfully and have been in love since the very first day. I would say she can be more mean than most cats, but I love her every minute and we have lots of snuggle time every day. She's my really special furry heart.



Chuck and I adopted Nikita when we lived in a little apartment that was right above the boiler room. It was stiflingly hot in there all winter. Sometimes the floor was so hot, we wore shoes inside. Often, the rooms were so hot that we slept with the windows open. Even when temperatures were below zero outside. When Chuck came home from work (where he wore a dress shirt, tie, and dress pants), he would immediately go in the bedroom and strip down to boxers and a t-shirt. He would then come out and say, "I'm home."



And, every single time we opened the refrigerator, Nikita would try to run inside. She would scurry to get back behind the food and then would try her hardest to hide when we tried to pull her out. She wasn't phased at all if we closed the door for a minute; locking her inside in the dark. Sometimes we'd be too fast getting something out and would close the door before Nikita got inside. She would look at us so hurt and sad. She loved to be in the nice, cool refrigerator.



(Note: Cats always prefer to be in warm spots and will go to great lengths to find and possess the warmest spots. The fact that Nikita put forth so much effort to be cool is evidence of the high temperatures in our apartment.)



As I mentioned, we often slept with the windows open. And when we did, Nikita slept in the window sill pressed up against the screen. One night I woke up to the sound of her meowing, but when I looked at the window, she wasn't there. I looked around the apartment, but it was clear that the meowing sound was coming from the window. As I walked toward the window in the darkened apartment, I realized that the screen was not in the window. Now I hurried over and put my head out the window. Below me I saw the window screen laying on the snow and a cat-shaped hole in the snow (like in a cartoon) with my Nikita at the bottom. She was looking up at me confused, meowing.

I hurried into my coat and ran down the hall and down the stairs. I didn't take my shoes. Outside I ran around the building and faced snow drifts 10 feet deep that stretched for at least the length of 6 apartments before I'd get to Nikita. I tried to climb, but just sank into the snow. I started to army crawl along the surface. It was working. I was cold and I couldn't move fast, but I slowly made it to the hole in the snow. I dug out a bigger hole on a slope so that I could climb down and get Nikita. And then climb back out. With her cold little body tightly squeezed under one arm, I crawled back to the door and went inside. Back upstairs. Closed the window. Went to get a drink of water.

All was well. We were safe inside. Chuck slept through the whole thing. In the morning, I showed him my crawl marks in the snow. When I told the people in the apartment office that we needed the screen replaced, they asked why I didn't bring it back with the cat.

Cleaning the Cages and Mysterious Predication

Today I cleaned the hamster cages for the first time. The pamphlet said once every one - two weeks. So, today is one week. I'm guessing that it will more often reach to two weeks. We all know that cleaning is not my passion. But, I do like when the house doesn't smell like pee.

A few interesting things happened during the cleaning process.

The first thing I did was catch the hamsters and put each in his exercise ball to run around the house. Jane was immediately interested in the hamsters being on the ground and where she could get her nose right in close. (Jane's our dog.) I was worried she would scare the hamsters and told Rachel to take Jane in another room. But, Rachel suggested putting the balls in the bathtub and letting the hamsters run in the safety of the tub. Fine. Then she came out and told me that the balls got stuck on the drain so she put the plug in. Fine. Then she called for me to hurry and come in there because Snickers was out of his ball.

I ran in to find Snickers running around the tub ball-less. I scooped him back in the ball and made sure the lid was on tight. I then stood there thinking that it sure was a lucky thing that Rachel wanted to put the balls in the tub and wanted to put the plug in the drain. Snickers is fast and not doing either probably would have meant a lost Snickers. Rachel's good at predicting the future without knowing it. She often does things that anticipate circumstances we couldn't have foreseen; and it works out really well. I like that she has that unique talent.

The second interesting thing that happened while I was cleaning the cages is that I realized Snickers' cage had been put together wrong. Part of it wasn't connected this whole time. No rodents got out. No cats got in. Funny. Everyone just stayed where they belonged.

So, I don't know if Walter and Snickers could see each other in their exercise balls, but when I put them back in the cages, I put them both in one. And they were so happy to be together. They were grooming each other and sort of hugging. They pressed their faces together. It was very, very cute.

When we picked them out, they were in a cage together, so I guess they must be brothers or they must have been together for a while. I'm glad that they are happy to see each other. Maybe they can share an exercise ball next cleaning.

Hamsters Arrive

On Saturday, June 6, 2009 I took Rachel and Kate to the store to buy hamsters. Both girls love animals and have been asking for more pets for ages. We already have a cat, a dog, and some fish. But, with animal lovers - and a mom who grew up with lots of pets - it doesn't take much to decided more creatures should be using up oxygen in our home.

Rachel graduated 5th grade this year - which is the end of elementary school around here. And, around here, completing elementary school is a big deal. The year ended with a series of 5th grade events including a day long field trip at a forest preserve, an after school dance with DJ, and a graduation ceremony. Those with older children kept saying, "Wait until you see what they do for 8th grade." Apparently we're all about celebrating children's milestones on the north shore.

So, the hamsters are really a graduation gift for Rachel. But, it's a family event so Kate got one too. They live in the living room with cages that attach. Just central to the family right from day one.

(For those of you who are detail oriented, they are two male robo hamsters. Wikipedia has a good page about them including pictures. The pictures aren't of our specific hamsters, but you get the idea. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roborovski_hamster)

Rachel's named her hamster Snickers. Kate's is named her hamster Walter. Rachel's cage is a primary color, multi level habitat. Kate's is a pink princess habitat. Rachel asked the sales man practical questions about care and feeding. Kate asked if we could get the hamsters a pet bird. Yet another day when my daughters seem to be different species. Both in love with their new pets - but in really different ways.

Kate talks to hers. She makes up elaborate stories about the adventures she and Walter take together. She is obsessed with giving Walter more food and treats. Rachel is all about caring for Snickers. She checks his cage and encourages him to try new things. She's impressed with his accomplishments and tells everyone how smart and strong he is.

And, the hamsters are a lot like their owners. Walter will follow Snickers around and try what he does. Walter also likes to sit in his food dish and sleep a lot. Snickers is more adventurous and faster than Walter. He's consistently harder to catch and has bitten me twice. (In his defence, I would bite a giant hand scooping me up too.) Snickers literally climbs the walls and jumps from the highest levels in his habitat. The two spend a lot of time together in each other's cages, but they seem to return to their own space.

Each has a wheel in his cage and both spend a lot of time (at night) running and running and running. Snickers is much, much faster than Walter. Sometimes Walter climbs onto Snickers wheel with him and runs behind him. Snickers is faster and so Walter is always slipping down and either bumping his face on Snicker's butt or being kicked in the face by Snickers. When Walter tries to get off, Snickers jumps down and noses Walter back on for another round. An effort to encourage more exercise?

On June 10th, both girls re-named their hamsters. Rachel named her "Giant." Ya know, it's funny because he's so small. Kate named hers "Brown Eyes." His eyes are actually black, but I don't think she's trying to be funny. I still call them Snickers and Walter. We'll see what sticks.