Hi to the other amy's with ferrets and cats(there seem to be atleast 2 more
of you on here), and to the rest of you too.
This is about ferrets and cats - one amy wrote about getting her kitten and
ferret to get along, litter box problems and fleas. Alot to deal with at
once.
 
As far as moving goes, it seems to me cats are very disturbed about
moveing, but my ferret loves it.I remember the 1st time we moved after we
had her (Wiggles or Wigglesworth) -she tunneled thru all the boxes,
collecting her toys (or what she considered her toys) and was unpacked way
before we were. She was very indignant when we unpacked and thru out all
the boxes and paper-they were alot of fun to investigate. And she loves
having a new apartment to investigate.
 
Right after the last time we moved , my very old cat died, and in rapid
succession we got 2 kittens (Pele and Carmen). I made a big effort to get
kittens smaller than Wiggles (not too easy, she is a small ferret). I only
kept them separate from her about one day, but I was working at home and
could generally supervise them at 1st.  Wiggles was very pleased at the
idea of someone small to play with (I am not nearly playful enough, and and
the last cat died at 19 and was not interested in her) .The 1st kitten was
very afraid of her for about a week. Wiggles would run up and try to get
her to play, and she would run off. Wiggles, being a very clever ferret,
figured out how to "hook" her- she would run around in the room, but
distant from the kitten, rustling papers and things that would drive the
kitten wild with curiousity and the desire to play. These won out within a
week or so, altho it was only when Pele got much bigger than wiggles, that
she felt confident enough to let wiggles chase her. As pele got large, I
decided that wiggles was looking a little thread bare (tired out) and
decided to get a 2nd kitten (Carmen). Pele was mortified that I got another
cat, wiggles was pleased. Carmen got along with the ferret right away, and
long before Pele (the first cat) accepted her(carmen). Now They all get
along well and play a combination war-tag-hide and seek that can last a
long time and create much havoc, but its fun. The great advantage here is
that the cats play with and tire out the ferret, and she gets into much
less mischief now than before I had them. When Pele is tired of playing
with the ferret, she will turn around and sit on her. Carnivores play
rough! and I sometimes worry that the (now much larger) cats will hurt the
ferret. But they havent-I think the rule is that if they dont draw blood,
they are just playing.These animals are all capable of doing serious damage
to eachother-the cats could clearly kill the ferret, and she could
certainly hurt them if she wanted. Since they don't, I assume (by
definition)  they are playing (among  animals of the same species, there
might be an establishment of dominence thing, but I dont think thats going
on)  Actually, several times, I have seen very small wounds on Wiggles
neck, so I guess the cats do get carried away. But clearly they are
playmates-and the ferret initiates play most (after all she is a ferret) of
the time.
 
The litter box problem- I would try moving the litter box to where the
ferret went. We have 3 litter boxes because with this many the ferret
always uses one(almost one per room). I think you said she went right next
to it- if this means in the corner next to it, try putting the box in that
corner. Wiggles has nothing against using the cat litter boxes at all. They
just have to be in the right place- sometimes if one is over a few inches
she will go in the corner next to it. (I put newspapers under and around
the litter box for this reason) I think the cats using the boxes have
helped identify their purpose to her, and she uses them more reliably than
before. You save yourself alot of bother if you let the ferret tell you
where she wants the litter boxes (and have a few).
 
Flea infestations: any soap kills fleas, but only commercial flea shampoos
will kill eggs and deter fleas. Use Johnson's baby shampoo- it doesnt hurt
the pet's eyes ("No more tears"). And you can use it often with out worring
about toxic effects. Apparently kitten flea shampoo is what is reccomended
for ferrets- but I have always used the Johnsons baby. Take your pets,
shampoo  them, and take them to someone elses house for the day. THen bomb
the hell out of your house to get rid of fleas-use something that kills
eggs and larva. Keep the house closed for 3 hours, and open windows and
doors to clear out atleast 1 hour. You might want to shampoo the kids again
before turning them lose-but this is assuming something nontoxic like baby
shampoo is used.
 
So I have a question: is dark waxy build up in ferret ears definitely
mites? Because the cats don't have it but the ferrets ears are really
needing to be cleaned often (every month) for the last 6 monthes or so. And
I don't see where she could get them from. What is reccommended?
 
thanks, amy, wiggles, pele, and carmen
 
 
[Posted in FML issue 0563]