Logistics of having so many critters...
Why yes, I'm afraid we do run a petting zoo. 10 dogs, 4 cats, 3 parrots and a marine fish tank. Many have asked about the logistics involved with dealing with so many aminals, so I decided to finally write about how a "normal" week with critters goes.
Food and water: That used to involve a weekly trip to PetsMart for the dogs, every couple weeks to the American Bird Company for the boids, to the McLean Animal Hospital for the cats, and to Fins and Feathers for the fish. However, my life has been made a LOT easier by the addition of a few simple things. lionessindc turned me onto Canine Caterers who also deliver cat food of the type that my kids can eat (the two indoor cats have IBD and eat special food). They bring good food without fillers from China, drop them on the doorstep and bill the credit card. Wonderful. I used to have a similar service for the birds, but they stopped doing that, so I get someone to go out to the Bird Co, and I've found most of the fish food online except for the frozen stuff that I still have to schlep out to get. Outdoor cats eat anything. They're not really "mine" they just adopted me. They're pretty feral but sometimes allow you to pet them. Water is pretty easy, just clean and fill everyone's water dishes cept for the fish :-).
General Maintenance: Here's where things get sticky. 5 dogs are Chinese Crested Puffs, , 4 Chinese Crested Hairless and one big black muttley dog. Nobody sheds cept for the muttley dog. However, the puffs need regular grooming, especially my children who love to play in mud or whatever else is available. The choice is 45.00 each for bathing and grooming, or do it myself, which I generally do. This weekend I did all 5 puffs, and had to empty the vacuum 3x cleaning up all the hair. Some are easier to groom than others, some taking one person to hold them still and the other to clip as quickly as possible, leaving the dog looking as if it tried to have sex with a lawn mower.
Cat maintenance for cats with IBD is really disgusting, so I won't go into it. Fish tank maintenance consists of lots of water testing, lots of water changing, lots of watching and worrying, and lots of "wow, this is really coooool" Bird maintenance includes letting the monsters out of their cages, grooming their new feather sheaths, keeping them from eating remotes and electrical wires and furniture, while chasing them around the room with them usually yelling something ridiculous like "bad bird, no screams."
Output Maintenance: Here's where things get smelly. The bedroom is made up of two areas, separated by a two sided fireplace. One side belongs to the dogs. It is blocked off from the other side which belongs to ME. Both of the sides have hardwood floors, which is not great since I already have to refinish the floors on the dogs' side. The dogs have a doggie door that opens onto the deck so they can run down the stairs and do their doggie stuff outside, where it is collected weekly and thrown into a makeshift compost pile. The cats have a litter box. The birds have newspapers, and the fish tank has a protein skimmer. Changing THAT can be highly amusing.
Toys and entertainment: Here's where it gets silly. The dogs have many toys, many remnants of toys, and many objects that they have confiscated as toys. They seem to get hold of various household objects and somehow sneak them out the dog door where they are found in less than usable condition. These objects include wooden spoons, socks, shoes (only the expensive ones), underwear (Chiana once paraded in front of the picture window with my bra on her head in front of guests), etc. Timing of how long toys actually last can be from 5 seconds (literally) to a few weeks, depending on how long it takes them to remove the insides of whatever and strew them all over the room. I just finished cleaning up the innards of a disemboweled stuffed cow. The cats have various cat toys that last much longer. The fish find all kinds of things to play with. The birds have toys that also have variable times to live, depending on how quickly the birds chant "power of CHAIN SAW" and get to work, leaving a pile of splinters and an eerie cackling sound. The evil birds consist of a Moluccan Cockatoo, a Blue and Gold Macaw, and a singing Yellow Nape Amazon.
Vetting: Here's where it gets expensive. We are VERY lucky to have a vet who makes house calls. When it's time for shots, the assembly line begins. Grab dog. Find record. Weigh dog. Examine dog. Shoot dog. Repeat until finished. This vet also does cats. Hooray. Birds have to be driven about an hour to Purcellville, which generally includes hideous screeching along the way. For the fish, I call Sean at Fins and Feathers and sound pathetic til he comes to help.
Attention: Everybody gets as much attention as is humanly possible. It's no wonder I need vacations. But I can't take many with hubby because someone has to aminal sit. Oh the fun :-)
But they really are worth it. They're great little critters.