Saturday, January 17, 2009

On the amazing feats of Houdini the Hamster

I am not sure how, but somehow our hamster managed to get out of her cage Thursday night. There were no open doors, no chewed-through wires, no logical openings big enough for her to wriggle through (and, yes, I know they can get pretty small if they want to, but believe me, not that small)... it's a puzzlement, to be sure.

We have not yet found her. And now, the race is on ... who will find her first? The cat? The dog? Or the human? If the poor thing has already met her untimely demise, I hope it's not in some hard-to-reach place. Dead rodents don't smell so pleasant, you know.

Of course, even if *I* catch her first, she might still meet her end at my hand after what I discovered in my search for our little Houdini. When I pulled out from the wall the bookcase upon which her cage sat, I saw dozens and dozens of little turds stuck to the wall, the back of the bookcase, and on the floor! That little stinker has been pitching her poop out through the wires of her cage!

(She obviously didn’t like the Craisins I gave her as a treat, either; some of those were stuck to the wall, as well. Ungrateful little fuzzball.)

After overcoming my initial irritation (and nausea), I just had to laugh. I found it fascinating that she did that dirty little deed out the back of the cage, and not the front or sides ... almost like she was trying to hide it from me 'cause she knew it was wrong! Stupid rat. Smart rodent.


Your Fun Fact for the day: Did you know that it is illegal to keep hamsters as pets in Australia? They fear "escapees" could breed in the wild and become "feral" pest animals.