I would like to weigh in on this subject. We have taken in several
ferrets over the years and one stands out his name was Max. Many of you
may remember when Max passed to the bridge last year. Max came to us
with his two friends, Annabel and Roxie. Max's mom loved him very much
but had to give them up due to extraordinary circumstances. Annabel and
Roxie adjusted well and soon seemed happy and playful. Max was sad, he
rarely played, he stopped eating, lost weight. I took him to two or
three vets, who could find nothing wrong with Max. The last vet said it
was if he were suffering from a broken heart and had just given up. I
was not going to give up on Max. At the time my 18 year old daughter
was still living at home and I said you must make Max love you. I work,
she doesn't. She sat down and sewed rather large pockets on an old
apron, moved a cage into her bedroom and began to "romance" Mr Max. She
spent time with him always, if she was doing chores, Max was in one of
the big pockets. When she was watching tv, Max was laying on the couch
or bed beside her. The two were never separated, except during the
school day. Kate even turned down dates to bond with her special boy.
It took time but Max began to eat and then play.

He could be put in the ferret room for short periods of time to play
with Annabel and Rox. Eventually Max could spend more time with his
ferret friends and went back to live with Anna and Rox in the big
ferret room. Max did very well until Kate had a horrific car accident
that took her from home for a while. Without seeing Kate everyday Max
again stopped playing and eating. This time though Max wouldn't get
better, by the time Kate was released from the hospital Max had passed
to the bridge. I would like to add something to this. Even though I
believe that Max truly grieved himself to death for Kate, toward the
end he separated himself from Rox and Anna. Always before he would curl
up with the girls to sleep and wrestle with them. When he quit eating
he started sleeping in a different area of the cage than the girls and
would run them off if they tried to cuddle with him.

We were heart broken to lose Max and Kate was beside herself with
grief. No one could ever convince any of us at Coffee Creek that
the little floor monkeys do not have feelings and emotions.

Sincerely Kim

[Posted in FML 5510]