it was April, 1995 and my ex-husband had decided that he needed a pet to
keep him company in his apartment.  He had decided on a ferret, in part,
I guess because of it's size as he wasn't supposed to have pets and this
one he could hide reasonably well.  He had discussed this with our
daughter and she was all excited at the thought of a new pet.  He
purchased Cinnamon, an 8 wk old MF female from the pet store and I had
the pleasure of keeping her the first night because he wasn't going to be
at his home that night and he didn't want her to be alone .  So...she
came home with me and our daughter.  I knew nothing about ferrets but
thought she was the most engaging creature I had ever met.  The first
time I put her down on the floor to explore I thought she had problems
with her back, as she was particularly curved, more so than most ferrets
and I had no idea that was normal anyway.  She explored the room, tried
to climb the barrier I had placed in the doorway to keep her in that room
and stole my heart in the process.
 
I kept her a lot that spring and fall, whenever the ex was away, for
various reasons and each time it was harder to give her back to him.  By
the end of the summer he had decided that she wasn't what he was looking
for in a pet, I think he had thoughts of a pet sitting in his lap while
he read or watched TV and we all know that isn't what a ferret is the
best at.  So when I asked if I could buy her he readily agreed and that
is how my ferret family began.  I recently lost Cinnamon at age 7 1/2,
in Sept, to kidney disease and other problems but she is responsible for
my love and passion for ferrets, and I am so glad she did.
 
I have had a total of 7 ferrets in my life, joys each and every one.
I currently have 3, 2 females, Jillian, age 7 1/2, Zoey, age 5 and my
newest addition, Casper, male, age 3 (adopted from Julie Fossa's
shelter).  And I am no longer an uneducated ferret owner, or is it
owned by ferrets?
 
To the person asking about hard copies of ferret information, try Ferrets
for Dummies, great book and good for a beginner.
 
Merry Christmas
Ann
[Posted in FML issue 4001]