HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR WEASEL TODAY?

The fuzzies are kind of quiet tonight. I went and got Cupid and told him I wanted to hold him for a minute. Gave him some Ferretone so he'd linger in my lap. It lasted two minutes, perhaps, before he wiggled to get down. He's never been real big on being held, but he's become even more crabby about it since he got sick. Well. He gets lovies whether he wants them or not!

Dave wouldn't have any of Cupid's grouchiness tonight. He found Cupid, woke him up and pushed him out of his bed. Then Dave proceeded to "pounce" Cupid, inviting him to play. (Pouncing in Dave and Cupid's case is more like slowly climbing, but their intention is that of pouncing). Cupid ignored Dave. Dave pounced (climbed) on Cupid again. Cupid ignored. Finally Dave lets out this big, loud, "KECK! KECK!" Cupid went into the Hidey Hole.

And that was that.

Tomorrow is National Ferret Day! Hug a Weasel ! We (some members of the Ferret Association) were in the Houston Chronicle's Lifestyle section today with a very nice little article about ferrets. Also, on the Chronicle's website, is a photo gallery with some pictures. I was all excited and was showing some people at work. One lady said she thought I needed help because I'm "obsessed". Ugh. Whatever.


Several people have notified us that they need to find a new home for their ferrets. The rescue isn't taking anymore in right now (temporarily), so it's hard to know what to tell these folks. I keep telling hy husband that I'm very serious about starting a rescue. He's OK with it for a future goal, but now isn't the time. I thought of approaching the people that are doing the rescue I'm volunteering for and seeing if we could work together and expand the current one. We both live on the north side of Houston, but on opposite ends...so we could cover a broader area. We'd still be raising funds for just one rescue, instead of two separate ones. Don't know what anyone else would think about it ~ just an idea I've had.

Anyway, here's good link if you'd like some ideas on how to help out your local rescue:

http://www.sjferret.com/100ways.html



My ferret rescued me....

(photo: George)

CUPID HELPS WITH THE DISHES

So I took Cupid to see Dr. Dori on Wednesday evening. She spent a lot of time examining him. She told me his lungs sound great, but his spleen is enlarged and hard in one spot. Dr. Dori said it is common to see enlarged and hard spleens in ferrets ~ no one really knows why ~ so it may or may not mean something.

He's lost weight, which I was aware of. His glucose was 71. Dr. Dori still wants to wait until April 13 to repeat Cupid's x-rays. She thought maybe he was having some side effcts to the Lasix, so we reduced the dosage.

It appears that Cupid is improving somewhat. His tummy seems to feel better, although he still isn't eating so great. He gets up and mills around for a few minutes at a time ~ last night he even came in the kitchen and helped me unload the dishwasher!


Anyway, Dr. Dori was awesome. She really eased my mind. I'm doing everything right ~ now it's just a matter of waiting and watching. Hopefully, in a couple more weeks, we will be able to figure out what else is going on with Cupid (besides the insulimoma).

On top of this, Dave got really sick tonight and barfed all over the house. It looked like undigested Duck Soup, so I'm hoping it was just a matter of him overeating. Dave loves to eat.


Ugh --- I am exhausted.

MILO'S STORY

Milo Mouse came into my life almost four weeks ago. He was the smallest of three ferrets at a local exotic pet store. The owner handed him to me and my heart melted. He was clearly underweight, dirty and had a prolapsed rectum. The cage he shared with the other ferrets was all wire, with no sign of any soft litter for them to walk on.

Milo snuggled close to me and gnawed at my fingers. I fell in love and brought him home. And even though I "bought" him, I knew I was rescuing him from what I felt was a terrible living condition. I am sure he would have gotten very ill or died if left in that cage.

When I brought Milo home, I fixed him up a little cage all his own, with soft blankets and food and water. He attacked the food as if he hadn't eaten in days. He snarfed it all up. I made more. He ate half of that and fell asleep. The next morning, the food bowl was empty again. He ate ravenously like that for several days before slowing down to a normal pace.

I took him to the vet and had him checked over. The vet agreed that Milo was underweight. He also told me the prolapsed rectum was due to coccidia and gave me some medication for Milo. (The man at the pet store told me a prolapse rectum was "normal" for kits. How stupid is that?)

Well, it hasn't taken very long for little Milo Mouse to gain weight and get a cute little ferret tummy. He's growing like a weed and romps and plays with my five other guys just fine. I believe he is deaf, but that is not an issue for such a strong and tuff little kit. He steals toys, runs through tunnels, digs the rice box and attacks my feet with the best of 'em.

Milo is just now figuring out that it is OK to sleep on soft blankets. He tends to sleep on the hardest, coldest surface he can find. I attribute that to the fact he had no soft place to sleep. I'm not certain, but it may be that he was not welcome by the other ferrets in the pet store cage. It makes me so sad to think that perhaps they weren't allowing him to eat or cuddle up with them at naptime.

Milo has brought so much happiness and joy to our home and I am so grateful to have found him! What a beautiful little gift !

PLEASE SAY NO TO INDIVIDUALS "REHOMING" (SELLING) THEIR PETS ON WEBSITES LIKE CRAIG'S LIST. ADOPT FROM YOUR LOCAL SHELTER OR RESCUE!

THANK YOU!

REHOMING FEES: THE NEW TERM FOR "FOR SALE"?

A Typical Scenerio:

I walk into a local pet store with my 5-year-old in tow. We pick up some Iams and some catnip for Fluffy, the cat. As we are headed to the register, we pass by a large tank with these adorable little critters wrestling comically. A couple of them are asleep, one piled on top of the other in the cutest position.

My 5-year-old and I both are mesmerized. A sales person wanders by and begins to answer a few of our questions. Yes, they are ferrets. Oh, no, they are quite friendly and inquisitive. Easy to care for? Of course, no problems. They sleep most of the time. Sure, they can be litter trained. As a matter fact, yes, they are on sale. And we have these cages over here....

My 5-year-old is jumping up and down, begging me for the odd little animal. My child is brighter and much more mature than most 5-year-olds and we did promise him we'd get him a guinea pig for his birthday. He wants the ferret, instead, so why not give him what he wants?

Only twenty minutes later, we are headed out to the minivan, my 5-year-old skipping and singing happily behind me as I push the shopping cart loaded with one baby ferret, a large box with an "easy-to-assemble" ferret cage, some food, treats, a brush, a collar and leash, a couple of toys, a sleep hammock, water bottle, food crock, litter pan, litter, ferret vitamins and some coat conditioner. The clerk suggested this book about ferrets, but I don't have a lot of time to read, being the mom of a small child and all ~ I am very busy. Besides, the sales clerk answered all my questions. And I did just hand over my credit card for $ 346.27. I'm not spending an extra $20 on a book I don't think I need...

We get home and I put my now cranky 5-year-old down for a nap and proceed to put the cage together. Several hours later, our new little fuzzy is all settled in his home. My 5-year-old names him Bandit. Everyone is so happy. Except the cat, who is pouting with jealousy. I clean my purse out later and take a quick glance at the paperwork the pet store gave me when we purchased Bandit. Oh, it's just the information the clerk already told me. I don't need this. I trash the paperwork. I don't notice it told me that ferrets need distemper vaccines, just like dogs or cats. I don't read the part about how I must ferret-proof my home and supervise my 5-year-old when he plays with Bandit.

It's six months later. My husband is working overtime and I'm doing my best to keep the house in order. My child has dropped the ferret a couple of times. Thank God they are agile. He also keeps leaving the cage door open and the ferret gets loose. One night we thought we'd lost him for good. Oh, and there's the smell. My husband is really complaining about that. I can't help it, the darn ferret won't always go to the litter box and I'm finding poop everywhere. It's just too much for me to deal with.

Bandit is very sweet and loving and so cute. But I'm so worried my kid is going to let him out. I'm tired of hearing my husband complain about the smell. And, you know, I am just too busy to take care of him. Yes, I think it's time to rehome him. But, oh, I don't want just anyone to take him. Bandit must go to a good home. (And I need to recover some of my costs --- I mean look at how much money I've spent on this animal !)

~~~~***~~~~

Except for the last line, this is just one of a kazillion stories I read and hear constantly. People acquire a ferret on some spur-of-the-moment whim, falling in love with the fur and nose and little cute ears. They do no research. They don't think. The sales people in the pet stores are there to do one thing: sell. They are not going to tell the potential buyer that it takes about $600-$800/ year to care for a ferret. They don't mention the potential emergency vet bill that could add up to as much as $ 1200 if the ferret gets ill. In fact, they don't mention vet bills at all, which include distemper and rabies vaccines. And heartworm preventative. So, rarely, the ferret owner doesn't take the ferret to the vet. They never get their shots.

The ferret owner discovers how quick these little guys move and how smart they are. They jump up on the coffee table and knock over the crystal vase holding fresh roses and water. They burrow in the clean laundry and sleep. They shed. They poop in corners. Even letter box trained, they will choose to poo in other spots, because it's fun. They will steal your wallet and hide it under the bed.

And now the ferret owner realizes they didn't know that ferrets were so _________ (fill in the blank). So they feign giving a s**t and put the poor little animal up on Craigs List (or similar 'sell your stuff ' site), giving some ridiculous "poor me" story, saying they want to "ensure a good home" for their pet. And they charge their "small rehoming fee" of $ 250 or $ 175 or $ 100....and they think that's OK.

Tell me: What is OK about irresponsibility? What is OK about refusing to educate yourself and really thinking about the commitment you are about to make to a living, helpless creature? Why is it OK to expect me to save you from that responsibility by taking on your animal you no longer want and expect me to pay you ??? If anything, you should pay me for getting you off the hook. You should pay me to cover the shots you never got, the heartworm preventative you never administered. You should pay me for my willingness to love and care for the poor little ferret who never asked to go home with you in the first place.

There are shelters and rescues who devote their lives and resources to the care of ferrets. They get vet care, medicines and good food. Volunteers spend time, funds and energy to help. The shelters and rescues will charge an adoption fee, which rarely even covers what expense is put in to care for these animals.

Individuals who try to dump there pet and make a buck cannot even be compared to a rescue. Their "rehoming fee" is a way of scamming animal lovers into giving them money. Don't do it. Go to a rescue or shelter. But, please, do your research. Look for information. Ask questions of people who are experienced with the animal you are interested in.

SAY NO TO REHOMING FEES & INDIVIDUALS SELLING THEIR PETS !!