Date:   Mon, 7 Jun 1993 02:33:50 -0400
From:   [log in to unmask] (Inez Gowsell)
Subject: A Rose by any other name...
 
> I have a question about Gila and ferret behavior.  When I went towards
> Gila when she was on the floor, she backed herself into a corner, as if
> she was trying to get away from me.  Does anyone else's ferret do this?
> Cocoa always came towards a person and was always tolerant of handling.
>
> This behavior made me think that Gila might have been abused before Dave
> got her.  She does have a broken front paw that was never fixed... at
> least I don't think anyone tried, and from my understanding, the paw was
> healed that way when she was found.  She can put weight on it, but she
> does seem to favor it quite abit.  Of course, she may just have been in
> a funny mood the day I saw her.  *shrug*  Any suggestions on how to
> increase her trust, or whether this is normal behavior?
 
Inez,
 
I have 3 ferrets - Scooter, Nina, and Tavi.  Tavi is a huge male who
is very affectionate.  He runs towards me or anyone else - he loves to
be held, and always begs for attention.  Nina is less affectionate, but
when she wants attention, then she is super affectionate.  Scooter sounds
a lot like Gila, but was much worse at one time.  She was abused and neglected
by her previous owner.
 
He lived in a frat house and got a ferret.  He had her for a couple of
months and then decided he didn't feel like having a ferret anymore, so
he put the cage out in the hall next to the entrance-way of the entire
frat house - I can just imagine how much she got picked on and teased.
He fed her cheap, poor-quality food, gave her water if she was lucky,
and never washed her bedding or cleaned the litter box.  When I got
her and the cage it was utterly disgusting.  I felt so bad for the little
girl and she was my first ferret.
 
She was very anti-social, she didn't like people and would run away if
she saw a human approaching.  She is much better now, not nearly as
skiddish, yet I still need to approach her slowly and cautiosly so she
isn't afraid of me.  She still runs from me at times though - and then she'll
poke her head out of her hiding place and come up to me, and then I can
pick her up.
 
Best wishes,
 
Chris.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0489]