I was very impressed with the honesty of the Ruffners and the way they
run the HOFS raffle.  Apparently, I got my money for tickets to them too
late for the raffle.  Instead of keeping it anyway or e-mailing me to ask
if they could, they spent the postage and took the time to mail my check
back to me promptly.  The SOS raffles also appear to be well run.  My
check is always acknowledged by e-mail and I know my ticket numbers.  In
April I entered a raffle run by a third ferret group--my check still
hasn't cleared the bank.  Did it get lost in the mail?  Who knows?
 
On Saturday July 26 we brought a new ferret into the house.  We didn't
have any history on him except that he had been left behind to run free
in a flea-infested trailer when his owners skipped town.  The person
who brought him to me got rid of the fleas first thankfully.  Because I
didn't have a history on him, on Monday July 28 he took a trip to our
vet for a distemper shot and general health checkup.
 
Sparky, our first ferret, came to us in an aquarium.  We moved him into
a tri-level cage when we got him just over a year ago, and he never got
out unless we opened the door for him.  This new guy kept breaking out
of our cage at all hours of day and night until we put extra clips on
the cage doors.  He got behind the piano and under some cabinets in the
kitchen--places Sparky had thankfully never ventured.  He was a little
lighter and browner in color than Sparky--hence the name Cocoa Houdini.
 
Cocoa was a real chow hound at first but apparently he hadn't come from
the best conditions and was running a little light on weight.  Sparky
loves squeaky toys.  Cocoa ignored them.  Sparky wanted to run and play
fight with him.  Cocoa just wanted to be left alone to ferret away ferret
treats and do his own thing.  Sparky was willing to stay in his cage when
play time was over.  Cocoa wanted to escape.  Sparky used the litter box
most of the time when he was free.  Cocoa was "Litter box, what's that?"
 
Even though I wanted a second ferret, I really wasn't sure that I wanted
to keep Cocoa; but he wasn't a biter, they didn't fight, and he needed a
home.  Well, Cocoa has been here a little over a month now.  He now loves
Ferretone and Laxatone.  He's running and playing with Sparky and taking
an interest in squeaky toys and windup toys and us.  He and Sparky like
to tunnel and chase each other and run around in circles and dook and
play fight.  I really love having two ferrets now.  They're cute when
they sleep together and when they play.  They destroy my living room and
turn over my plants occasionally, but they are fun.  Ferret stuff is
everywhere.  Ferret hidey holes are everywhere.  I wish they could stay
healthy like this forever and die in their sleep of old age.  But knowing
that the odds of that are slim, I read the FML to help me be a better
ferret owner now while they are healthy and to be better prepared for if
and when they get sick.
 
Thanks BIG for running this list and thanks to the rest of you who reach
out and help us first time ferret owners.
 
On a sad side note, two Monday mornings ago my daughter came in saying
that her cat was dying.  We took the cat carrier to the barn and sure
enough Cali was sick.  The vet said that her temperature was 106 and
wanted to keep her for a few days for treatment.  Well, a few days turned
into a week.  The vet ruled out a lot of things and tried a lot of
things, but our cat continued to get sicker.  When we went to see her
that Friday afternoon she was in such bad shape in spite of all the vet
had done.  The vet said that she smelled and acted like she had distemper
even though she and all our pets get their distemper shots every year.
We couldn't pet her because the vet felt that she was contagious.  It was
sad to give the command to put her to sleep and not be able to pet her
one last time, but our only other choice was to leave her there and let
her die naturally.  It was probably irresponsible of me to not ask for an
autopsy, but our bill was already up to $250 for a soon to be dead cat
even after they gave us a hefty $100 discount.  I kind of wonder if the
vet didn't go ahead with an autopsy anyway just for her own knowledge.
Our other two cats, three dogs, etc. seem to be fine so far.  They don't
go to the barn or eat as many wild animals as Cali did though.  She made
herself our barn mouser.  We would have to carry her to the garage/house
to make sure she got her nutritionally balanced purchased cat food.
Hopefully we won't have to deal with another pet getting distemper or
whatever it was Cali had.
 
Nancy
Wichita
[Posted in FML issue 4624]