Young Does

  We have many wonderful does here at Critter Cave, and each girl has a different personality; from cuddler to adventurer, every one fills a special place in my heart!

 

CAVE Johanna

Born: 06/03/06

   Johanna, a beautiful marked agouti velveteen, is the daughter of SITH Reaver (Scout) and Squeek. She is incredibly sweet and cuddly!  She also has a really beautiful, curly coat just like her momma; in fact, she's practically a Reaver clone in personality too.  In addition to that, she's a roan carrier, and has produced some really gorgeous babies, including my roan boy Freddy.

About the same time she had her first litter, Johanna injured one of her eyes and lost use of it.  Though she may not win any beauty contests now (she's gorgeous except for her closed eye!) she's still as sweet as ever.

 

 

tBBR Chinese Lantern

Born: 01/07

 Chinese Lantern (aka "China") came to live here after I had a weak moment at the RatsPacNW Winter Show;  she was the last one left in her litter and was soooo cute that I just had to bring her home.

China is a top-notch American Blue Irish rat; her only 'fault' is a kink at the end of her tail that she got when she injured it as a baby. This little beauty took Best of Show at the 2007 Rat-a-Rama.

In addition to being a real 'looker', China is one of the sweetest girls ever - she ALWAYS wants to be loved on. 

 

CAVE Sophia

Born: 06/03/06

 Sophia is a pretty little agouti self girl.  She was born in June '06 to Reaver and Squeek, with her sister Johanna, and is a roan carrier.

Sophia is super sweet like her momma but has her Daddy's outgoing, explorative nature, making her a fun girl to be with. She has grown up to look so much like Widget, that though they're unrelated, I have to watch carefully to tell who's who! 

She had some pretty little fawn babies in spring '07, and I'm looking forward to more in the future!

 

RMIS CWR Voltimond
Voltimond (aka Volt) is a beautiful black velveteen girl from a partnership breeding between two Boise ratteries.  I'm not sure if the litter met all their dreams, but this little girl definitely fulfilled mine!  She's a doll all the way around!

Volt is a quiet, 'anything goes' girl who loves her hugs and kisses.  She won't shove to the front of the pack, but will shiver in delight when you reach for her;  I think she just tries to let the 'needy' rats get their petting fix first   ; )   She loves to explore too.

Volt hasn't yet been to a show, but I expect her to do very well at show this fall.

 

EAGL Emily
Emily is an agouti European roan girl from our sister rattery, EagleEye Rattery, in Salem, Oregon.  She's a teeny little girl who's just so plushy you can't leave her alone.  She's almost fully roaned, but still has lovely brown ticking all through her coat!

Emily and Voltamond are very alike personality-wise, though Emily is still young and may 'find herself' yet.  It's not surprising that they're good friends!   : )

Emily will be mommy of lovely agouti roan babies as soon as she's ready!

 

CAVE Nimh

Born: 10/22/06

 Nimh was born to Marie just after my birthday last year and was a real present!  She's very much like Widget - smart, athletic and sweet, and her energy seems to have no end!  She's a pitch black self and has extremely glossy, soft fur; I expect some really beautiful babies in the future!

She won Best of Variety her first time out, at the RatsPacNW Spring Show, 2007.

 

 

CAVE Constance

Born: 08/09/06

 Constance was born to CAVE Grey Girl in the summer of 2006, along with her sisters Hazel and Shone, and her brother Heidelberg.

As a baby she was sweet and cuddly, but somewhere along the lines she got a little bit neurotic...  Though she is still beautiful as ever, she won't allow any one to touch her without screaming and running away.  Her favorite game is the tummy tease (she jumps on the bars so you can poke her tummy, then she'll squeal and run away... then bounce right back for more). She was handled LOTS as a baby, so I'm not sure why she's become 'strange' - she's just my little loon.

Because of her behavior, Constance will not likely be bred (just in case it could pass on) - a great shame considering her beauty and genetics.

 

CAVE Hazel

Born: 08/09/06

 She may like a plain lab rat, but she is FAR from it. Hazel is a champagne roan; it was visible for a very short time before she roaned out due to her light champagne color.  So this little 'pink-eyed white' carries some important genes!

Hazel is quite a character - very much like her Daddy.  At the same time though, she carries some of her daddy's aggression.  She gets along all right with other rats, but is always the alpha of her cage and introductions take a little finesse.  Still, she is one of the most promising from her litter, and may meet a nice gentle boy in the future.

 

CAVE Shone

Born: 08/09/06

 Shone is a blue roan, though she has roaned out to almost pure white quite early.  She's a fun, adventurous kid, very much like her father.  Unfortunately, like her sisters, she carries her father's fault of aggression; she lives happily in a community cage but is obviously the alpha. She has really great conformation and color though, so babies are a possibility.  The perfect, ultra-squishy boy could balance her out, so we'll see.

She and Constance are best friends.

 

Forest

Forest is a pretty blazed banded agouti dumbo girl who came to me as part of a rescue out of Oregon.

An older woman adopted two 'female' rats from her local pet store to be companions, and was surprised when one had babies not long after.  It turned out that the pet store had given her a male and a female!  The problem only got worse when the babies had babies before they looked anywhere near old enough - ratties can get pregnant at 5 to 6 weeks old, when they're still tiny babies themselves!  Luckily, RatsPacNW stepped in to help, and Critter Cave adopted 2 ratties - Forest, and a boy named Kenmore, to help  : )

Forest is a great ratty; gentle and outgoing and she loves her attention! 

 

 

1Senior Does

Most of my girls are actually 'seniors' (over a year and a half old) who are past their prime baby-bearing days and well into enjoying their retirements.  When I want to enjoy some real ratty company, with plenty of cuddles, these girls provide the 'fix'; and they still have plenty of 'go' to keep the young 'uns in line too!

SQUINK of CAVE

Born (est.): 05/17/05

 Squink, a seal point siamese girl, was born in Germany, but has been in the United States since July 2005, when she was only a few months old.  When I bought her she looked like a beautiful beige hooded, but I got a surprise when the orange faded away and left behind a dirty nose!

Squink is extremely soft, and passed this feature on to her babies, including Squiggle and Squirt who stayed with me.  She's also a great momma, who patiently 'nannies' any babies in her cage; they grow up polite with Squink around!  She prefers exploring and running to cuddling, but will often 'give up' and spend time down your sweat shirt.  She especially likes tail petting.

Squink had surgery in December 2006 (at 19 months old) and another in August 2007 to remove mammary tumors, but is getting along like nothing ever happened. She's more active at 2+ than many younger ratties!

 

CAVE Widget

 Born: 02/03/06

 Widget is a mischievous little agouti girl who may have better been named Houdini! She's very intelligent, and seems to use her smarts to plot escape, just like her mommy Autumn used to. 

Widget was born in February 2006 as part of the 'jail break' litter between Autumn and Squeek.  She passes her gorgeous multi-colored coat, her smarts smarts, and her complete love of all people, on to her babies (of which she's had many!). 

Widget is also a confirmed roan carrier, showing it only as a tiny white blaze on her nose that appeared this summer.

 

CAVE SQUIRT

Born: 08/18/05

 Squirt is a pretty little silvered black girl, and sister of Squiggle (Aug. '05 litter, Squink x Squidge).  She's very cuddly and sweet, and just loves her hugs and kisses. She's probably my most 'polite' ratty; she patiently waits until everyone else has had their kisses, and then enjoys hers thoroughly when invited.   : )

Squirt won Third Place in her section at the RatsPacNW Spring 2006 show.

Squirt had to be spayed in Aug.'06 when she suffered a prolapsed vagina (ouch!) during our move to the Palouse.  Her wonderful personality hasn't diminished at all, and she still sucks up the love!  She hasn't had a 'sick day' in her life, and has luckily avoided all the mammary tumors that have plagues her mommy.

 

SITH REAVER

Born: 09/23/05

 SITH Reaver, nicknamed Scout, is an outgoing agouti velveteen.

As a youngster, she adopted my Dad, and spent any moment out of the cage inside his shirt.  She's one of my most dedicated cuddlers - she actually gets "sick" if not fussed on every day   ; )

She has lovely plushy fur, thicker than most of the other velveteens I've seen, even in her old age (which is rare for a velveteen).  In fact, this 'evil SITH ratty' swept the awards at both the Winter 2005 and Spring 2006 RatsPacNW shows!

Awards:

Best of Section, Winter 2005

Reserve of Show Kitten, Winter 2005

Best of Section, Spring 2006

Best of Variety, 2006

 

Scout's children and grand-children have gone on to win many more awards at show.

 

UCVR WILLOW

Willow is a pretty little blue berkshire girl with a wonderfully gentle disposition.  She loves to cuddle, and is one of the gentlest and calmest ratties in my mischief.  Tough she was a lump as a kid, she's actually decided that exploring is fun in her old age (a traveling retiree I guess ; )

She is so soft, I named her "Willow" after the little grey buds on willow branches in the spring.

Her babies inherited her lovely color and calmness. CAVE Schmoo and Grey Girl are two of her children, and Hazel, Constance and Shone are her grandchildren.

 

EAGL Teeny Tamarin

Born: 01/17/06

 Teeny Tamarin, also called Teeny Tiny around here, is a very small girl!  She's only about half the size of ratties younger than her - her own children are almost 3x her size! 

This little beige girl seems to think she's a monkey, clambering up and across the bars of the cage, even upside-down!  Her name, Tamarin reflects both her size and acrobatic talent.  She is a grand-daughter of my Squidge and Squink, from a sibling breeding by EAGL (gorgeous babies!).

Tamarin had her first litter in Nov. '06, and they all turned out just like her and their Daddy.

 

UCVR/EAGL Laurel

Laurel is a black berkshire dumbo, and earned her name from those lovely ears; after Stan Laurel from "Laurel and Hardy"

 Laurel is probably the most outgoing of all my females; she's first to the cage door and first to come running when you come close.  She loves to both explore and cuddle; a very well balanced ratty! 

Her wonderfully goofy personality further reflects her namesake too.  She's the kid of ratty you really look forward to seeing after a hard day's work!  I've tried to make baby Laurels, but she has sadly never carried a litter to term.

 

Amber of CAVE

Amber is a rescue from the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society who came to live with me in April '06.  She is amber colored and very lovey;  If you're in the room, she's begging to come out and play.  As soon as the cage door opens, she's making her escape to explore. She LOVES to be out wandering, especially if there's a person to give her kisses whenever she passes.

She is the first girl to come to the door if you come near the cage, and the last girl to 'go to bed' when she has to (and she's hard to put away 'cause she'll keep popping back out!). I'm really pleased how she's come along; she was a biter when I adopted her!

Amber had a huge mammary tumor removed in April '07, and is sadly growing another, but is still doing very well; her growths haven't slowed her down at all!

 

CAVE Marie

Born: 02/03/06

 Marie was born in Feb. 2006, and is Widget's sister.  Like Widget, she is very intelligent and active and passes those smarts and her sweet, explorative personality on to her babies.

Marie has a gloriously soft coat, thanks to the fact that her daddy was a satin rat. Like everyone in her family, she's never had a sick day.  Anyone looking for a great pet should seriously consider a ratlet from the Autumn family line!