Hello. Some of you may recall that I posted a few weeks ago (in issue
427) asking for advice about Buddy, my not-so-playful ferret. Since then I've
gotten him to play a couple of times. The first time was about a week ago when
I let him and Cassidy loose in the livingroom, which is normally off-limits
to them. Buddy got a little frisky, actually ferret dancing a little (while
Cassidy went *crazy*, gyrating across the room in a ferret-dancing frenzy :).
The second time was yesterday; I kept following Buddy around, tagging him and
saying 'gotcha', and finally he stopped just ignoring me and started doing
the ferret-dance. This got Cassidy excited, and they started wrestling and
playing together for the first time in several weeks. Buddy even attacked
the 'fabric fish on a string' and dragged it away to hide (normally he just
ignores toys). I was glad to see him playing again, but I'm still worried
about him. He hardly ever plays, and it's such a struggle to get him to do
so. When I first got Cassidy (for the purpose of perking him up) he improved
for a few months, playing with her quite regularly, but this gradually tapered
off. Should I be worried? He seems healthy, and wanders around sometimes
exploring, but he spends most of his time sleeping, and seldom gets excited
about anything (and who's ever heard of a ferret that's never excited?). I'd
appreciate any advice/suggestions/reassurance. I'm just afraid my little boy
isn't happy.
 
John, Buddy, and Cassidy
 
[Posted in FML issue 0441]