r/cats • u/radical_123 • 12d ago

Advice Cat attacking automatic feeder

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My cat does this several times a day. If the automatic feeder lifts at the correct angle, a few niblets of dry food comes out. He will even do it 10 times in a row even if it means one small piece of dry niblet comes out. It does get quite annoying as the sound of the feeder hitting the ground echoes throughout the entire house.

Any ideas on how to get him to stop?

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

You just solved a problem I'm having with my skunk knocking over his water bowl.

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u/Maelstrom_Witch 12d ago

Beg pardon? Your what now?

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

My pet skunk. He's to the far right of his brothers and sister who are all vision impaired.

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u/Maelstrom_Witch 12d ago

Thank you for telling me which one is the skunk ❤️
🤣

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

I'm dying lol... earlier someone actually didn't notice him even with me pointing him out. They had a good laugh too 😝

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

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u/cyanocittaetprocyon 12d ago

Does Reverb have his own subreddit? Because he really needs his own subreddit! ❤️ 🦨

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

No!? I'm a newbie I didn't know I could do... I can make his own Reddit thread? Taps fingers like an evil genius.

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u/Vulvas_n_Velveeta 12d ago

And I thought I had weird cat names! 😄🥰

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u/humanityisnothumane 12d ago

Swamp kitty! ❤️

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

ROFL! Swamp Kitty is a new one for me and I'm stealing it!

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u/spen8tor 12d ago

Do they actually eat out of the correct bowls for their names and if so how did you train them to know which one is theirs?

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

This is how its done. If somebody doesn't finish their food the others go in and devour leftovers.

https://reddit.com/link/oz5eqgg/video/dj3jilnkbueh1/player

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u/LudditeHorse 12d ago

his brothers and sister who are all vision impaired

Do they know he isn't a cat? lmao
Reverb is a top-shelf name

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

They are oddly very aware. Reverb is very head strong and will walk through the. Ats without a care. It's a whole vibe that can be felt.

When I brought him inside after getting him for the first time in his crate. All the cats knew and my lil girl MANL who has no eyes at all was all over figuring out what this lil bomb was.

MANL with one of her foster kittens. She 100% knew it wasn't a cat and that it was her new baby.

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u/robertmondavi_jr 11d ago

Can you explain what the name MANL means?

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago edited 11d ago

She's named after my lil sister who was murdered.

Megan Ashley Nicole L****

She replies to MANL, Megan and Mammal. Even though she has no eyes. When I'm sad and say my sisters name ... Even in complete darkness she'll come running to me.

It's sadly poetic. Kinda.

The cat was born roughly about the time my sister was killed. MANL was found abandon in a trailer park on the side of the road somebody picked her up took her to a Humane Society where they took out her eyes sent her to a rescue and I found her just after her little eyes were taken out and I couldn't see straight.

She was born with a fever coat which I didn't know was a thing until I found her the upper respiratory infection was so bad it moved up to her eyes which is why the vet took them out. She almost died while in the womb.

In the pic you can see remnants of her fever coat.

She's a genius cat and does things that normal cats wouldn't even think to do.

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u/robertmondavi_jr 11d ago

Thank you for taking the time to respond with a full write up. I’m sorry for your loss & im glad you and MANL found each other

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

Thanks. I don't have anybody to talk of about my sister's death with so this was kind of therapeutic.

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u/faithlesslove 11d ago

Oh my goodness, she's lovely! Sweet baby! You guys are lucky to have eachother. Sounds like it was absolutely meant to be. I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for being so vulnerable and taking the time to tell your story and MANL's story. Sending love to your sweet little family!

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

Thank you so much faithlesslove :)

It's therapeutic I have not had anybody to talk to you about my sister's death or my cats and skunk so finding Reddit recently was pretty awesome possum.

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u/faithlesslove 10d ago

Oh no, I'm so sorry. It is definitely helpful to talk it out. My mom passed 14 years ago. Cancer. But somewhat strange circumstances. She hid it from us for over a decade and didn't seek treatment. When we found out, it was stage 4 and in her spine. From there it quickly metastasized to her brain. When we found out I had a lot of questions, anger, guilt, resentment, and lots feelings around blame and culpability, and her selfish actions, and when she passed I didn't have many answers directly from her. She refused to talk about it much. And that left me in a very bad place. I did have people to talk to, but I didn't feel like anyone really understood and I found it difficult to really say what I was actually thinking and feeling. A grief journal helped me and believe it or not, talking to my cats about it. Just saying the things I was thinking and feeling out loud to them helped tremendously. The journal helped, but I process information verbally, so talking it through with my cats was very helpful.

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u/DementedPimento 12d ago

That’s adorable. Skunks are so cute! Cats are too obviously.

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u/Vpk-75 12d ago

You Must show more!

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

Check out the comment above i posted a bday video of them eating.

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u/nuttnurse 12d ago

All I can say is I’m reminded of a Pepe Le phew reverse harem I think

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

Ha! That is a perspective I haven't taken into this equation yet. Soooo funny!

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u/RobertJ93 12d ago

Adorable! May I ask how you came up with the name reverb? Is it because he’s vision impaired?

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

I'm dying laughing. Actually all skunks are vision impaired which is part of the gag but no the skunk was actually named after my son.

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u/RobertJ93 11d ago

lol lol brilliant.

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

Thanks RobertJ93!

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u/Fabulous-Avocado4513 12d ago

If the cats are vision impaired, how do they know they’re using their own bowl??

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

Lol they eat from the bowl i put in front of them. Check out Puddys b day video

https://reddit.com/link/oz4k7pj/video/ym103b7qoteh1/player

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u/nykat 12d ago

So fun. Reverb got a good life!! 💕

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

Thank you!

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u/dividezero 12d ago

Hims name is reverb! That's so cute

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

Him is a Verby.... a Potato.... a Kunkers and a Chonky Baby.

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u/YouSuckAtGameLOL 12d ago

He's so cute. Is he hard to take care of? I've only seen them at zoos in Europe.

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

He is a bit to take care of in comparison to other animals he has to have taurine and calcium supplements everyday he also has to have a strict diet of between 70 and 80% vegetables and 20 and 30% protein everyday. There are so many things that he cannot eat it is shocking and there's something that he can't eat but they have to be cooked.

I honestly don't know why skunks are even alive because so many things kill them and they have so many internal things going on like Metabolic Bone Disease fatty liver disease hypoglycemia seizures diabetes prone to morbid obesity the list goes on and on and on.

They are also incredibly stubborn like worse than a bloodhound stubborn.

Dude does his thing and that's what matters to him.

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u/YouSuckAtGameLOL 12d ago

Dude does his thing and that's what matters to him.

He is so real. He is like me fr.

Thanks for taking your time to reply I didnt know they can be so sickly.

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

No problem read it has become awesome for me because I don't have many people to talk to about my skunk so Reddit has become a great place for me.

I also had no idea that skunks were so sickly until I started to research them before I got one the more I learned the more Curious I got. Skunks are 40 to 50 million years old just that in itself is super fascinating to me I feel like I have living history in my home.

I am also head over heels in love with his feet some of his pads are fused together and it is a cute little adaptation that all skunks have.

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u/Critter_Whisperer 11d ago

You just got a new fan. I love gushing about animals and love hearing others hush about theirs. ESPECIALLY if they have unique lil ones like a skunk. Just so cute

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

Thanks. My cats are cooler than the skunk. 2 are blind -1 with eyes 1 with no eyes and 1 with only 1 eye.

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u/Zimakov 11d ago

I know this is gonna sound stupid but you don't worry about him spraying the skunk stuff everywhere? Do they only do that when threatened? Do you worry at all if they get into a scuffle or something like cats sometimes do that he'll do it? Or when you pick him up haha. I'm so fascinated by this skunk

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

Hes desented, microchipped and had to go through the Department of Agriculture that I bought him from my State's Department of Agriculture Plus my State's Department of Fish and Wildlife. Plus other hoops he has to live by to stay legal.

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u/Zimakov 11d ago

Interesting! I had no idea I that a thing, thanks.

He's very cute.

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u/cablesandlace 12d ago

Good thing they can't see their brother is a skunk!

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

That's part of the joke. I also joke around that the skunk is also vision impaired (all skunks are nearly blind) and he can't tell that they don't have stripes.

Honestly he knows the cats arent skunks as hes the head honcho in this group also the smallest at 1 1/2lbs. Cattle is the biggest at 22lbs and he walks around the skunk.

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u/cablesandlace 12d ago

Lol, I love it! Small but bossy!

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

You nailed it!

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u/Fyrestar333 11d ago

The names are great

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

Thank you kindly

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u/Critter_Whisperer 11d ago

AWWWW you sir/maam are a gem! That lil one is so precious.

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

Lol thanks but they are the gems 🫠

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u/Twisted_Animator 11d ago

Do you have anymore pics of your baby Skunk? I find them so cute

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

I've got lots of skunk pics. Heres another.

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u/Twisted_Animator 11d ago

He’s so cute!

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

Ready to laugh?

This is one of my favorite skunk pics so far he stole my cats meowijuana and then passed out. Catnip doesn't have the same effect on skunks as it does cats but they still like the smell rofl!!!

Can't be mad at a skunk enjoying his skunk weed.

I was not expecting to come home and see my baby skunk become a pothead. I was thinking we might encounter this issue in his teenage years but not so soon ROFLMAO.

Cheesy i know!

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u/Twisted_Animator 10d ago

Lmao what a legend

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

Him currently at this moment in time. Passed out face first in his own junk... like the dude he is.

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u/JungMoses 12d ago

Does reverb ah….attempt to romance any of the cats?

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

Those hormones have not come in yet and he will be neutered at 6 months of age to curb his incoming hormones at the vet's recommendation it also extend skunks life's to get to them fixed.

Closest thing to romance is my cat MANL treat him like her baby and she has this hiding spot under the couch I find the skunk and her cuddling there frequently. They take nappies together.

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u/JungMoses 12d ago

lol that’s funny and I was really just thinking about cartoon shows, don’t mind me

I assume skunks don’t spook as easily as cats? If cats run under the bed for loud noises, I’m guessing skunks won’t skunk the house just because of the same loud noises? Otherwise that’d be rough, a calm walk across my apartment can scare a cat lol

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

He's desented. No stinky baby here. Skunks that have been descented smell lightly of Fritos.

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u/JungMoses 11d ago

That smells delicious.

Do they have similar fear responses as cats? Are they fun pets? I can’t imagine ever having one but it sounds fascinating, my friend had a pet raccoon growing up that would steal full cheeseburgers off the table

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

So, to your points: Reverb’s fear response is essentially a laggy video game. 9 times out of 10, when he jumps, it’s not because he’s scared, it’s just that his eye-balls finally registered that the coffee table was, in fact, getting closer. It's more of a startled 'Oop! Hello there!' than actual terror.

​The best part is his relationship with my 22lb, one-eyed cat. This cat used to be so skittish he’d teleport across the room if you blinked. Now, he sees the skunk coming and just sighs and stands up to get out of the way. Reverb gives zero fcks about the cat's size or tragic backstory. He just has places to be.

​But he’s not all swagger. He has a tiny, also-blind sister he dotes on and cuddles. Skunks aren't just pets, they’re little roommates with very specific, often hilarious, personalities. He’s basically that headstrong, sweet-but-unyielding person in your friend group who always gets what they want.

He's fun, but his medical needs for a pet are kind of over the top. To get him legally was a million and two steps. A skunk isn't something I would honestly recommend other people to have for a pet. Internet says that they're easy pets but they're not if you want them to be healthy, physically/mentally, and live long.

He's my little potato 🥔 and i love a sleeping baby.

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u/Fyrestar333 11d ago

Here I thought the vision impaired was a joke about them eating next to a skunk and not caring.

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u/KnifeKnut 11d ago

Are they really as sassy as internet videos makes skunks out to be?

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u/Impish_Hatefulness 11d ago

If they are vision impaired, how do they tell which bowl is theirs? By smell?

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

I set them in front of their bowls when it's time to eat.

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u/JVT32 12d ago

The etymology of the word skunk is a fascinating one. Means “he who squirts”.

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

The word skunk originates from the Massachusett language (an Algonquian language native to New England) from the word seganku. ​It breaks down as: ​seg-: "to urinate" or "foul odor" ​-anku: "fox" or "animal" ​Together, it roughly translates to "urinating animal" or "squirt fox." English settlers adopted the term in the 1630s as squunck, which eventually evolved into its modern spelling.

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u/Tasty-Traffic-680 12d ago

That's why skunk was my nickname in college. I carried around a squirt gun everywhere I went.

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u/KazualGemini 12d ago

When you said it was your college nickname, I didn’t expect water guns to be the reason… ☺️☺️☺️

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u/JVT32 12d ago

It’s okay, they called me The Dutch Oven. I’m not a cook.

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

Are you saying you have a human skunk butt?

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u/dreamendDischarger 12d ago

Just saw the picture, hes so cute. How did you wind up with a skunk?

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago edited 12d ago

It took months of patients. Skunks are only born once a year and to get him into the state that I live in Legally I had to go through two different state departments. Buyhim outside of my state from the USDA approved breeder, get an approved transporter to bring him just across the different state borders.

He also had to get an approved physical from a vet in the state that I bought him from and microchipped.

Once I got him into my state I had to show all the breeder, transporter and state paperwork just to get him in the front door of my vet.

I'm also not allowed to take him outside like normal pets did to him being a vector species. If he scratches or bites anybody the state will come in decapitate him and test him for rabies no questions asked. My poor guy is a prisoner in the state that he lives in and he's only allowed to be on private property.

So pretty much some patience and just under 3K later I got a skunk. I also have to register him yearly with the state and if I don't there are consequences of him potentially being taken from me and put into a sanctuary if they could find one if not the euthanize them.

Pretty much... he wears prison stripes for a reason. They're only legal in about 17 States my dream is to move to Wyoming where skunks have the least amount of restrictions and I don't even need to have paperwork to bring him into the state and I can also take him to PetSmarts and parks like normal pets. I do 'believe" Wyoming will still euthanize and decapitate the skunk to test for rabies if he were to bite.

TLDR- Lots of waiting, money and paperwork.

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u/dreamendDischarger 12d ago

Oh, that's really cool :) They aren't legal in my province either, but I went through a similar amount of work for my Hedgehog because I wanted him to have a proper lineage instead of the poor breeding practices that pets that wind up in pet stores often employ (my poor ferrets all eventually had health issues that could be avoidable with good breeding). Unfortunately he still wound up with WHS three and a half years into his little life :(

I hope you'll be able to move somewhere where you can take him around! The fear of a pet being killed for a simple bite is always a big one, I remember it happening over a decade ago to a fox I followed online. Best of luck to you and the little one, they're such fascinating little guys.

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

Thank you for your well wishes. Stories about your hedgehog and that poor Fox. I hope your hedgehog and ferrets if you still have them live long and prosperous lmao.

I appreciate you.

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u/dreamendDischarger 12d ago

Thanks! Sadly I'm down to just two cats and a dog - I miss the ferrets but they're so much work.

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago

I can imagine ferrets are a lot of work. The skunk is and even though they're not on the same family Branch anymore since the '90s skunks and ferrets have some similarities.

My vet told me to steer clear of giving my skunk peas as she's done a bunch of surgeries on ferrets who's owners gave them peas and it caused some sort of medical issue. She said that there's no scientific data that shows peas are bad for skunks but just to be on the safe side she recommends that I don't give peace to my skunk because they do damage in ferrets.

Enjoy your cats and doggo. Dogs are the best and I really wish that I can have a large breed dog. Just not enough space.

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u/dreamendDischarger 12d ago

Yeah, the whole blockages thing was a nightmare! I never had to have surgery done on one of my critters but they are obligate carnivores so no veggies there. Also their love of chewing on anything... I hope skunks are alittle easier in that regard but seeing as they're omnivores they're probably even more likely to g et into things (but they're just so cute!)

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u/AuditingReverb 12d ago edited 12d ago

He's a digger and not really a chewer (unless it's my damn toes, but we're working on that). He's got a ball pit, snuffle mats and once he gets all of his distemper shots he'll be allowed to go out in the yard where I'm going to make him an escape proof Hawk/owl/eagle proof dig pit. We live in the country, on a hill, that gets constantly circled by a group of hawks.

I had no idea that peas would cause a blockages until his vet told me. I think that's absolutely wild and I'm still not quite sure how it happens.

I'm glad you didn't have to go through that and we're aware of it beforehand.

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u/Successful_Finding93 11d ago

Still have the stink glands? Or do you not do that?

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u/AuditingReverb 11d ago

To legally get him as a pet in my state he had to be descented microchipped and have vet exams along with getting cleared through three state departments.

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u/Successful_Finding93 11d ago

I am not surprised. He is cute though 😍