> Cc: latour!ferret-list
> [why did you cc it to latour?]
 
I just "reply"'d to one of your mailing lists.  It did it automatically.
That explains the bouncing of the message.  So you can disregard the
message that I sent telling you to disregard any duplicates.  :-)
 
[Could you send me a copy of ALL of the headers from this message - maybe
I can figger out who's trashing things]
 
> Ferrets are very neat animals, so litter training is fairly simple.
 
> [You're lucky.  We've tried with only limited success]
 
Well, mine weren't all that great for a while.  For about a year I had
a litterbox in almost every corner.  But about 3 months ago, I sucessfully
cut them down to two downstairs and one upstairs, with very few mishaps
in the process.  :-)  (<---  That's me being a "happy camper" with fewer
litterboxes to clean!)
 
I should also mention that mine are "house ferrets", so they get a lot
more practice than ferrets who are in a cage and only have to walk 6
inches to get to the nearest litterbox.  I don't know if that *really*
has anything to do with it, but it's something to consider.  :-)
 
> If you get one from a pet store it will already be neutered/spayed and
> descented.
 
> [Not if it's a kit.  Our vet won't do them until they're 8-10 months old,
> and pet stores sell them as young as 6 weeks]
 
The ferret farms alter them *VERY* young.  :-(  So pet stores are getting
6 to 7 week old ferrets who have already been altered  (and given time to
heal enough to be sent out).  Very sad when you think about it.
 
[None of the ones in our pet stores are neutered.  None of our three were.
(one was a foundling, one was purchased from a basement breeder, and the
third was store-bought]
 
This causes several problems:
1.  It's difficult, if not impossible, to descent a ferret that young, and
not remove too much tissue.  This will result in that area being weak,
causing problems later in life.
2.  It is strongly suspected that altering the animals that young shortens
the life span of the ferret by as much as 4 years.  (VERY sad...
Especially since Percy and Bree are both pet store ferrets, bought
before I knew all this. :-(:-( )
3.  The method of removing the ovaries (reaching in the, er, "natural
opening", pulling them out, and snipping them off.  Ever wondered why
your little girl doesn't have any scars... ) tends to leave small
bits of ovaries inside, which can cause problems with hormones and
cancer later in life.  Or the uterine stump can grow into "One big ovary"
(per Dr. Kawasaki in one of his talks at the Montgomery Ferret Club).
I forget the implications of this, but needless to say, it wasn't real
good.
 
[Good grief - at any age.  Our vet sections thru the belly.  Mind you,
this is one of the *human* hysterectomy techniques...]
 
Also, if you allow a male to grow to sexual maturity before you alter him,
he'll be a lot bigger, and more muscular.  Some of the whole male's that
I've seen have been around 6 pounds!!!  But from what I've heard, they're
rather stinky (Hormones in the urine, which they *LOVE* to roll in...)
until you get them fixed.
 
[Toby wasn't that bad a stinker.  He was about 10 mos. at spaying.  Big
playful affectionate klutz.]
 
And of course, the females will die if you don't have them altered, or
bred every time they go into heat.  Well, there are also hormone shots.
And "breeding" with a vasectomized male, which will produce a false
pregnancy.  But as soon as her body figures that one out, she'll go
right back into heat.
 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
> [Which address did you use?  Note that I just changed the UUCP addresses.
> If you can give me a copy of one of the bounces, maybe I can figger it
> out.  You might as well include my phone number in your next post -
> it works, and I just had somebody who saw your post hunt thru the
> half page of Lewis's in the phone book to find me.]
 
Here's what I posted:
 
By the way, the ferret mailing list is back on line.  To have your name
added to the list, write to:
 
Chris Lewis, Elegant Communications Inc., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
UUCP: {uunet!attcan, utzoo}!lsuc!ecicrl!clewis
INTERNET ROUTING: [log in to unmask]
 
(I copied that directly from your .sig, and I have no idea which address
the person used that had the problem.)
 
If you want I can repost with your new .sig, or whatever you would like
me to say.  Just let me know.
 
[Repost with the .sig from this issue.  "[log in to unmask]"
is the preferred address.  "path-to-uunet!uunet!ferret.ocunix.on.ca!ferret-reque
st"
is for UUCP only sites.  "clewis" isn't really supposed to be used for
mailing list purposes.]
 
Nancy Hartman                                   CIS graduate student
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0134]