this is for the mckay ferrets, and anybody on the fence about adopting.
i don't have a mckay ferret, but i do have a ferret adopted from
similar circumstances...left outside..no interaction with humans. my
ferret was in a cage out behind a house, and just got food and water
thrown at him "occasionally"...the couple both blamed it on each
other...

long story short...i got him..scrawny..scared to death...he actually
screamed the majority of the hour drive home...yes..i was rethinking it
at least 50 minutes of the drive...

challenges...name them...ferrets that have never been in a house are
afraid of everything that we take for granted. almost every sound sent
him diving for cover..the phone ringing, the washer or the dishwasher
changing cycles, the stupid weather warning thing on the t.v., a door
opening, or shutting, someone making the stairs creak, god forbid the
doorbell rang...anything and everything was a new and frightful
sound...

he didn't bite..i never made him...i always kept my interaction with
him brief, but pleasant, because i knew that he was so out of his
element that if i added one more thing to his fear, that it would
probably push him over the edge...so i waited and watched...when he
slept, i would take the opportunity to run my hand over his back, then
walk away, before he had the chance to react, after a couple of weeks,
i could give him a little quick neck massage, then leave..over and
over...during the day...he'd run out and grab one morsel of food and
run back and hide with it...i thought he might starve to death the
first week...

time does heal all things...eventually he got used to my touch, and
actually ate at the food dish..each milestone brought tears to my eyes,
and i swear he knows, he is very loveable, and cuddly, never once
refuses affection now...all of my ferrets are special to me, for
their own personalities...but he has such a special place in my heart
because of his.i might add that this was 6 years ago....

i have 3 food dishes and a very large crock for their water, but he
just gets crazy if the food and water are not filled to the brim...he
is waiting for me, and bickers like crazy, and if i don't jump and top
them off, he bites me..not a mean bite, never breaking my skin..more
like a punishment...just a firm reality check that he is not getting
what he needs to feel secure...i always accomodate him...even though
there is enough food and water to last all 8 of them for a good 2 days,
i understand why..so i jump when he asks. he does this to this day,
years later.this is the only time he has ever bitten, and it's not
aggressive, it's more like panic, that he'll be hungry or thirsty
again, i understand him, so it's okay.

i know that every night he will jump on the couch, turn his butt to me,
brace his front legs, and wait for the massage that he knows will come.
i have such love for this boy that was once so afraid of me. he is now
one of my most cuddly, i am so glad that i put the time into him, it's
almost like he knows how good he has it, and is paying me back with
affection.

the mckay ferrets should be the same... never introduced to humans...
ferrets are full of love, and with a bit of time, they should return
your effort 100 fold...if you're on the fence...give them a shot...they
will most likely be wonderful pets once they've learned that they can
be safe and warm and fed...a little love goes a long way..if you have
room for one more ferret...please think of adopting one of them.

i have no affilliation with mckay, or the shelter that has them...this
is just my experience with a ferret that hasn't had a chance. donna

[Posted in FML 5738]