Kangaroo in our cattery

As most of you probably know, from June 2020 we have been taking care of a baby, which we named Joey. The beginnings were not easy, but somehow we managed. You can read about these adventures HERE.

We’ve assumed that Joey would stay with us for nursing. Initially, it was supposed to be up to the 9th month, which is as much as small kangaroos use a mother’s pouch for sleeping and protection. For Joey it was around September 2020. However, the conditions in the place where Joey came from changed a bit back then, and at that time, it wasn’t possible to let him go back just yet. We decided to leave him with us until 12 months of age, which is as much as the little ones need milk (apart from other foods, of course). With us, he was used to the daily routing, room layout and feeding times. As he grew, he understood things better and figured out how they worked. Sometimes it was enough to prepare a bottle and hold it for him and he would just drink the milk on his own. Considering his difficult beginnings, we did not want to risk that the next change of place, the stress of parting with us, would cause his health problems again. So in the end, the theory was that Joey will stiay with us until December 2020.

Time passed, and we became more and more attached to this oversized white mouse. We wondered what would be the best solution for him.

We had in mind possibility of the situation where Joey would not be able to return to his original home at all. We considered various options – finding another private facility with kangaroos of this species, or even a zoo. We had a few places in mind. Red-necked kangaroo is not a typical companion animal, it has different needs than a dog or a cat. We wanted Joey to have a good and fulfilled life.

However, there was a problem of a social nature. Joey was practically fully raised by us, having no contact with other representatives of his species. He only had cats for companionship, but that’s a different kind of relationship in the herd.

There was a possibility that by joining other kangaroos, he might have trouble establishing relationships and functioning properly in the group. As a male, he would also be exposed to aggression from other males in an attempt to establish hierarchy and dominance. Things like that don’t always end well.

Another thing that worried us was his health. After all this struggle for him at the very beginning, sleepless nights, intensive care etc., we were sensitive about it. In a larger group, in a paddock, it is much more difficult to monitor disturbing symptoms in a single animal. Sometimes symptoms go unnoticed, or they are discovered when the problem is very advanced or it is too late.

At our house, we can watch over him the whole time. He has his room cleaned 2-3 times a day and we can see how much he eats and how he takes care of himself, what is his urine and stool. As soon as we’ve noticed, for example, after a longer time spent outside, that sneezed or got a bit runny nose, we could react to taht. He immediately received appropriate herbs, vitamins or something to boost his immunity, so that he would not develop an infection. When we released him even for a while in winter, he would come out in a sweater. Although this species is said to be doing well in our climate at this time of the year, we didn’t want to risk him catching a cold.

 

In terms of nutrition and health, kangaroos are a bit like rabbits. We still remember that we’d lost our little bunny Pola to an over-acute and sudden pneumonia that took her overnight. After that we also fought for Marcel for a long time, but we also lost this fight. (You can read about it HERE) That’s why we’re so sensitive about Joey’s health now.

I was terrified that one day someone would call us to say that, unfortunately, Joey is dead because he did not get along with a group of kangaroos, or he was taken by some infection or other disease (e.g. coccidiosis). I knew that in such situation, I would blame myself that we gave him up at all.

So in the end, we decided that Joey would stay with us. In the spring of 2021, we were finally making a garden and already included some “0kangaroo corrections” in these plans. In the rear part of the garden, we arranged a pasture, where we sowed a special mixture of plants instead of a standard lawn. Some of them, such as plantain, unfortunately spread to the rest of the garden with time, but Joey finds them somehow.

Instead of the fence we’ve put full spans, and where the kangaroo spends more time, we had to insert elements as big as 1.8 m high. To be honest, at home Joey doesn’t even jump on the couch, but you never know. A full fence also needs to be there for safety reasons. If the little one gets scared of something, he could fall into the net and hurt himself or get stuck between the eyelets with some part of his little body.

To this point, we still don’t how to finally explain to cats that they have one less room at their disposal. Helen and Whisper, during the heating season, get on that radiator and take naps at every opportunity they can spot. We really miss that place to play on scratching posts for cats, but Joey also needs a place when we go to sleep, or we are not at home.

And what is Joey like? What are his habits and how is he doing living with us? Soon you will be able to read about it in his individual profile 🙂