Hi everyone,
First I want to thank everyone who wrote to me after Sebastian passed
away last month.  Really, you are all so wonderful, I'm so glad to be in
contact with all of you.
 
Now, the current problem.  Pukka, Sebastian's cagemate and best friend
in the whole world, is still very depressed.  She's beginning to come
out of it little by little, but in the beginning it was pretty bad.
She was barely eating or drinking (duck soup had to come into play for
a few days), and I had to have her and Lola switch cages because Pukka
remembered how to escape from hers-- something she hadn't done for years.
She was obsessed with trying to find Sebastian-- the last time she saw
him I was carrying him out the door of the ferret room, so I think she
thought he must be out in the apartment somewhere.  She would dig
incessantly at the door, pretty much only stopping to sleep.  Like I
said, she's started to come out of it, now eating and drinking fine and
even getting some of her old crazies back.  I try to spend as much time
with her as I can, but she really misses having Sebby to cuddle with and
bother.
 
Here's the ironic part: I have another ferret!  I would love more than
anything to see Lola and Pukka become friends, but they never have.
They're caged separately because they fight.  Lola is a kissey, lovey
people-ferret, but has not wanted much to do with other ferrets since her
best friend Illura passed away several years ago.  Actually, when I first
adopted Pukka and Sebastian, it was Pukka who was aggressive, and that
may have turned Lola off.  Now, I think Pukka wants to initiate contact,
but Lola wants none of it.  She's about 7 years old, deaf and has a
tendency to scream when Pukka comes near her.
 
Working VERY slowly, I am trying to integrate them.  Any interaction
between them that doesn't involve fighting is rewarded.  I've actually
gotten to the point where they will both sit on my lap and eat treats
together.  Doesn't last for long, but I count anything as progress.
 
Now, can anyone tell me if there is hope here?  I think Pukka really
misses having another ferret to play with, and I just wish I could get
Lola to remember that other ferrets can make good friends.  Is she too
old to change her ways?  Am I wasting my time?  I know one answer is to
get another ferret, but my fiance has nixed that idea for the time
being-- he has allergies and our apartment is small.  I have one ferret
in a huge cage and one in a smaller one; from a strictly practical
standpoint one would say they should share a cage-- but ferrets are not
practical animals.  Maybe I need to bring them to a ferret psychologist.
Can anyone tell me if I'm completely out of my mind to try to get this to
work?
 
Thank you so much for listening and I'm sorry the post is so long.
 
Rachel, Lola and Pukka, still missing Sebastian terribly
[Posted in FML issue 5022]