We have a single ferret, Ralphie, he is 4-ish.  He was part of a group
of 4, and over the last 3 years the rest have died.  Poor Ralphie.  My
husband reported that the other day there was a ferret segment on the
channel "NOGIN" (or is that with 2 G's?), they were flipping around and
chuckling over a feather duster.  Ralphie came out of his cage and just
flipped out.  He was totally into these bunch of ferrets, goofing around
and making noises.  He really reacted.  I know he would like a friend,
he's been a group ferret, he's friendly, etc., but I also know we have a
2 1/2 year old child right now.  Who in their right mind would agree to
let us have another ferret with a 2 1/2 year old in the house?  She loves
Ralphie, and he is good with her.  I mean, he is patient.  He runs away
from her a lot, half the time playing and the other half tired of playing
with her.  She picks him up correctly, although we would prefer she not
do that at all.  She will pick him up and "help" him onto the couch or
the ottoman.  When we had the last two, she was very good about not
picking up the oldster, Linus, we told her he was tired and sick and not
in the mood to be held.  He was also slow so his actions supported our
claims.
 
We also know Ralphie has a heart problem, a very faint one, but a heart
problem nonetheless.  Sometimes his heart doesn't receive the request to
pump and so it misses a beat.  I know he would like a friend, but we know
he does have health issues and what will happen with that other ferret
when Ralphie passes?  What should we do about him?
 
Minta and poor, lonely Ralphie
[Posted in FML issue 4337]