To Chris Haas: I also have the same "chewing" problem
with my 2 yr. old male Teebone. He chews on everything!
He has consumed jeans, flannel shirts and when I replaced
his bedding with newspaper he ate that! I have tried
Bitter Apple and that worked for awhile if I sprayed
the garment every day. Some ferrets just love to chew.
My five other ferrets show no interest in chewing
anything other than their food. I had the same problem
with the dryer hose, Teebone and his brother Weezul
just tore it to pieces. So I wish you luck with Nina.
I found I have to keep everything chewable out of
Teebone's way and that is hard to do sometimes. It
also spoils it for the other ferret(s) but I would
rather play it safe than sorry and have Teebone suffer
an intestinal blockage. Maybe just spraying the ends
with Bitter Apple will not interfere with the other
ferrets playing in it? Good Luck!
To Dona regarding Abigail: I also experienced a
personality change with my male ferret Teebone
after he had surgery for a peri-anal abscess.
Now he seems alot more wilder and likes to
bite my ankles. I have heard that in spaying
a cat the personality can change, the cat can
become less affectionate. Of course I believe
it depends on the animal. Maybe Abigail has been
stressed over the operation and she will hopefully
mellow out with time. I would restrict her visits
with anyone other than yourself and those you can
trust simply because of the fact she might bite
someone. I hope Abigail will soon become her
sweet self once more. I love my little Teebone
but I wish he would stop loving my ankle bone!
To Yael Dragwyla: What a beautiful tribute to
your loving Frieda. It echoed my feelings for my
ferret Hun-Hun who left me in June of 1992.
I also realized that I could never replace him,
yet I knew that his memory would always occupy
a place in my heart. There are so many rooms
in ones heart to be filled and so many ferrets
that need love and a home. You are wise to want
to give your love to another ferret. After I
lost Hun-Hun I grieved many months and then
sought out two more ferrets to help me with the
loss. I still grieve over Hun-Hun but I have
six wonderful ferrets to pour love and attention
into. Ferrets do indeed put light into the dark
place that death can leave, as you wrote.
What better way to bring some meaning to
Frieda-Weasel's death than to bring life and
love to another needful ferret. Best wishes to
you, Yael.
To Liana Winsauer(Issue 715) & Jennifer/Nash (Issue 706):
I am of the opinion that if you have never owned and loved
a ferret, you will never understand the emotional attachment
that a person has for a ferret. As you said in your letter
Jennifer, people are afraid of ferrets. I have had my
ferrets called rats, stinking weasels, mongooses and minks.
Everyone in my family and my roommate will not touch the
ferrets for fear of being attacked and they have no cause to
be afraid because it has never happened. I believe a person
knows he/she is a ferret lover the first time they see a ferret.
I was love struck the first time I saw a ferret in 1977. It wasn't
until 1987 that I was lucky enough to own one. As you stated in
your letter Liana, people assume that ferrets should mean less
than a cat or dog. They are only overgrown rats they say, how
can a rat have any personality? It is only because those people
have never owned and loved a ferret that the ferrets' worth is less.
It is like describing the beautiful blue color of the sky to a
person who has never possessed the gift of sight. You cannot
make a person understand the special love of a ferret if that
person is blind to the uniqueness of every animal on this earth.
Every animal has the right to be respected and protected
and if we are lucky, to be loved and cherished by us.
To Charlie Cook: The vet you mentioned in your letter is
certainly entitled to his opinion but I think he is wrong
in stating that cat food is detrimental to ferrets. I think
the fact that the majority of ferret owners I have
talked to and a good number of vets recommend high quality
kitten and cat food speaks for itself. Several of the members
of this list have said they use either Hill's or Iams dry cat
food and are pleased with the results. The vet's comment about
the taurine especially bothers me since my ferret Hun-Hun was
a victim of taurine deficiency. I had been a first time
ferret owner and had been feeding my ferret dry dog food
because the previous owner had been feeding him this
and several pet stores and vets saw no problem with it.
When Hun-Hun was diagnosed with heart problems and
had eventually lost his sight, the vet stated it was
because of the lack of taurine in the diet. Of course
this is just one opinion but it has been found that
taurine deficiencies in cats can lead to blindness and
and heart problems. Your vet might get a commission on
the amount of Kay-tee sold, I don't know why he is pushing
that brand, and as you said the Kay-tee has the main
ingredients of ground corn and fish meal. I would think
the chicken would be a higher quality of protein. I believe
corn does not have complete amino acids for the building
of protein to be utilized by the body, that is why it needs
to be supplemented with fish meal. I would say continue
using the Iams if that is what Jazmine likes and find
another vet if you feel uncomfortable with his opinions
and attitude. I have had my share of vet hopping, I am
on my sixth vet and I am happy with his knowledge and
experience with ferrets. Good luck!
Judy Gallipeau and the
ferrets: Sable,Boo,Fred,
Teebone,Weezul & Faucett.
[Posted in FML issue 0718]
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