The ferrets are now out of the garage. It took a fight, a lot of crying
on my part, and me having to point out the seedy slimy poops to my dad
but it happened. This morning, I looked at the litter box and noticed
seedy poops. Since they've been on the exact same raw mix for a little
less than a week now, that shouldn't be happening. I also noticed that
Mogli had watery diarrhea and seemed to be straining to poop. If this
hasn't cleared up after the next couple of days inside, they'll be
getting some pumpkin in their diet to firm things up. I'm hoping that
a lot of it is from the stress of a new home and a sudden increase in
people around...

Trust me, there is nothing more important to me than the welfare of my
ferrets. Ozzy was a skinny, scared, and sickly little baby when I first
got him from the pet store almost 5 months ago. Now, he's fat and happy
guy who weighs almost 3 pounds and is way too bold for his own good. I
also went through months of agony and force feedings to get Mogli to
finally accept an all raw diet. These last few days, I was out in the
garage literally once every 15 minutes during the day to check their
paws for overheating, their water bowl, and to make sure that strangers
stayed away (since my dad's girlfriend almost always has people over).

The next step is getting a playpen for them. We decided against
building one ourselves and will end up buying 2-3 to hook up together.
The price of materials and the time it would take to build is just way
too much. For now, their playtime has to be outside until my bedroom
has hard flooring rather than carpet. It was hard enough to get their
cage inside... I just can't take the risk of them having an accident on
the carpet. Someday, I'll be able to let them play in my room but it's
going to take a while.

For now, I can only keep them inside under certain conditions. I have
to keep a deodorizing spray on them... If it starts getting weak, I
have to spray them again even if it takes doing it several times a day.
I also have to clean the litter box at least twice a day. The bedding
also will need to be washed at least twice a week. If the house starts
smelling like ferrets, I have to find another place for them... It
sucks since both my dad and I like the smell but there's been far too
much drama in the last few days to push it. I'll also be getting a pet
safe deodorizing plug-in as an added precaution.

No matter what, I refuse to let my ferrets go. I already had to give
up my cats because of my dad's allergies. Since I'm already dealing
with the loss of my cats and the end of my first truly committed
relationship, I'm really leaning on my fuzzums to help me through this.
I've just been so angry recently since my dad's gf has been trying to
convince me to "get rid" of my babies. She refuses to understand that
they are not like cats in how they interact with people. She thinks
they're wild, dirty animals that need to live outside and will give
people diseases. I've explained the facts about ferrets to her and
she just doesn't listen. When I told her that ferrets have been
domesticated for nearly 3,000 years and are truly dependent on human
care, she just shrugged it off and said that they're "just animals"
and that I shouldn't care so much about them.

So, even though there's still a long road ahead, things are looking
better for Mogli and Ozzy. Once they're feeling a bit better, Ozzy will
be going in for his last CDV shot. I would do it sooner but I'm scared
about getting him a shot when he's already stressed out... I have no
way of knowing if the stress on his immune system would put him over
the edge.

And that's all from me today...

Cecilia

[Posted in FML 6406]