BEAR WARS

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ABOVE: Ziggy (an old picture) with his Beloved Panda Bear Beanie Baby.

BELOW: Milo. Tenacious. Wild at Heart. Free Spirit. Sees what he wants and goes for it

Ziggy loves his bear. I mean, he loves it. He carries it around and hides it in various places around the house. This evening, Milo had Ziggy's bear. Ziggy chases Milo down. "Gimme dat bear back, Miloz." "No wayz," Milo says, and he takes off. The chase is on and pretty soon, Ziggy gets his bear. But not for long. Milo gets the bear. "Gimme day bear back, Miloz!!" and the chase begins again. Ziggy runs back to the Hidey Hole with the bear.

I feel sorry for him, so I help him get the bear back into the Hidey Hole, safe and sound.

Oh, and he ate his Duck Soup without his little red spoon tonight....(still have to "prime" him by having him lick the soup off my finger first...)

*****

I started some brainstorming and doing some rough notes around my ferret foster home today. I also remembered the name of an attorney I used to teach yoga to, so she might be someone who could help me if I need it. I have a timeline and some goals -- it's just a matter of moving one step at a time. I can do this!!!

BUTTERFLY COCOONS AND SPRING FLOWERS

Another meltdown on Saturday evening. Cupid is being braver than me. Now we are having to go to the "second level" of syringe feeding. Just a couple of days ago, Sensei was freely taking his soup from the syringe and I even teased him that he was getting spoiled. Now I have to push the food. Dana taught me how to do it and it isn't a cruel process or anything. It's just that I have to scruff him and put him in a football hold. It's me, being more of an assertive, "Eat-Your-Meat-Or-You-Can't-Have-Any-Pudding" ferret mom. He's taken in one and 3/4 of a syringe so far today (about 20 cc's), so that's good.

He's back to not drinking water on his own, either, so I'm having to give him Pedialyte and water with a dropper. He's so weak, he can barely get himself to his potty pad.

We are trying to make his life as comfortable as possible. He gets gentle hold times and walks (we walk, he gets carried) outside to see the Spring flowers and butterfly cocoons. We talk to him and tell him it's OK for him to go. I sense that he is being pulled between two worlds, now. I imagine that he dreams of the Rainbow Bridge.

When I hold him to feed him, Cupid and I are face-to-face. His little eyes, dark ruby, are filled with soulfulness. There is definitely a connection. He has the longest canines I've ever seen in a ferret. The tip of one of them broke off the first week I had him! This gives him character, I think.

Today I took Cupid's footprints and I think he was afraid I was trying to poke him for a glucose! I'm sure he thought I was crazy...

In other ferret news:

Whoo Hoo! We went outside this morning - a beautiful day - and played in the playpen (they played, I watched). Rocky's coat continues to change and he now has this awesome stripe-thing on the base of his tail. Must get a pic.

I went to the rescue yesterday and took some photos of a calendar I'm going to put together to help raise money. I always love going there! There are ferret fanatics (like me), and I am learing so much from them. Of course, there are lots of adorable ferrets to love on! Always, when I get home, my guys sniff me and look at me like, "Mommy! Were you cheatin' on us??!!"

One of my guys got into my mom's purse last night and stole her sunglasses. She thought that was great!

Blogging makes me sleepy. Time to go do Duck Soup. More to come....

AIRING OUT THE BUSINESS

The days have been so pretty. We had the guys out in the playpen for a little while this evening. (now they all smell "Outdoor Fresh"!!) Cupid began to shiver, so I wrapped him up in his blanket and held him. I think he likes being out in the fresh air, but he makes it known when he is ready to go back in. And it doesn't take much to wear him out, so we try to honor his needs.

The other five were so frisky tonight. Happy to see us come home from work, they ran in circles, bounced around, wrestled, attacked the guitar. George, one of my climbers, managed to get on top of the tallest dresser and knock some photos down. Rocky kept running under my feet and tripping me; then he'd war dance me. He smiled at Keith, as in:

That Rocky. He's such a mess !

Well, that's all the news here at Super Happy Ferret Funland ! Time to go feed Cupid "Bones" McPoo.

IT BE MAH BURTHDAYZ!

Rocky (looking at camera) and Ziggy in the new playpen

Rocky, Ziggy and Milo play in the new playpen

(video camera works great in the sun!!)

Today is Rocky's second birthday! He got a new playpen so he and the others can enjoy these pretty days we've been having. I found it at Petco. It was the only one they had and it was out of the box, so they gave me 20% off! Score! It needs some expansion panels, but I'll order those later. They had fun digging and exploring, but when they wanted out, it was pretty clear...(look at Rocky jumping -- he totally cracked me up!)

O tay, we wantz out now...

CUPID UPDATE:

Well, he's about the same, really. He goes back to see Dr. Dori this coming Monday to be rechecked. I'm going to increasing his feedings again, because he's not eating enough kibble in between his duck soup and he is way too thin. That is, if he ever trusts me again with the syringe...

This morning I was feeding him and the syringe was tight. I pushed on the plunger too hard and it gave, squirting half of the food into poor Cupid's mouth all at once. Needless to say, the poor thing choked and gagged and I had a heart attack. No words describe how horrible I feel about that. I'm such an idiot. I'm very concerned about his aspirating some of the food. In fact I called my friend and ferret expert, Jimi, and she told me what to watch out for (coughing, rattling in the lungs, fever). So far, he seems OK. I think we both were just very traumatized.

I got another call from a ferret friend, Noni, who works at Dr. Dori's office and also is very knowledgable about ferrets. She also eased my mind and assured me he is probably just fine.

Oh, man, I'm glad I have these people in my life. They know how to talk me down from a hysteria...Thanks Jimi and Noni! You rock!

Now, here is what I learned: Syringes get sticky after a couple of uses. Coat the rubber tip on the plunger and the inside of the syringe with a little of the soup to keep it moving freely.

Poor, poor Cupid. Like he didn't have enough trouble without me trying to kill him....

Well, I'm home from work because I have a kind of asthma called Reactive Airway Disease. I'm coughing my lungs up. I'm sooooo tired, because I can't get a full night's sleep...