cute – The Hilltop Monitor https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu The Official Student Publication of William Jewell College Fri, 01 Mar 2024 17:20:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cropped-3-32x32.png cute – The Hilltop Monitor https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu 32 32 Photo Feature: My Pets https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/19937-2/ https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/19937-2/#respond Fri, 01 Mar 2024 17:18:22 +0000 https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/?p=19937 I grew up in a household with pets. My family has kept a wide variety of animals over the years including dogs, cats, turtles, guinea pigs and more. After over a year of living alone in the Jewell dorms, I realized my life felt bland without the little creatures, and I began searching for my perfect companion. Because the Jewell Pet Policy accepts only a narrow range of pets in campus housing, I visited small dogs and cats in the nearby shelters. However, after a bit of research and moving off campus the following semester, I decided on a much more surprising roommate: a ferret.

Meet Mr. Alfredo Noodle, or Alphie for short. Alphie constantly makes me laugh. He dunks his entire head in the water bowl to take a drink and frequently attempts to add me to the stash of toys he hides under the dresser.

A close-up of Alphie peacefully sleeping.
Alphie rests in his human’s arms after a long walk.

Ferrets are happiest when kept with others, so I soon adopted Hershey. Hershey’s favorite hobby is burrowing under blankets, in drawers full of clothes or in the pit of dry beans I made especially for him.

A still of Hershey playing with a blanket in the grass.
Hershey sleeps deeply atop the beans in his dig pit.

The two quickly accepted one another.

A young Hershey sleeps atop his older brother.
A not-so-young Hershey sleeps atop his older brother.

When a friend contacted me for help rescuing a litter of newborn kittens, I took in Daphne when she was only a few weeks old. Daphne learned many behaviors from her brothers and acts more like a ferret than a cat. 

A young Daphne rests her head on a blanket.
Daphne uses the sink as a seat while visiting the Jewell dorms.

I have since adopted Pretzel as well. Pretzel loves tunnels. Even though he has several perfectly sized tunnels, he will try to squeeze into any cylinder and is known to get stuck. 

Pretzel plays in the last few inches of snow.
Pretzel regrets using the toilet paper roll as a tunnel after getting stuck.

When the ferrets are not jumping around and causing chaos, they are sleeping.

Alfie, Hershey and Pretzel sleep together in a hammock.

I have also recently rescued another kitten whom I have named Chicken. Chicken is my spunkiest animal. She loves to play with her brothers and break into cabinets.

A young Chicken poses for the camera.
Chicken intently watches the camera.

With three ferrets and two cats surrounding me, my household never lacks affection and is certainly never bland!

Daphne and Chicken sleep together on a collection of blankets.
Alphie, Hershey and Pretzel lick a tasty treat off of their bellies.
 Daphne and Chicken watch birds from a window seat.

The photos in this feature were provided by the author.

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