Hello!  I have never posted before, but have been reading the newsletters
faithfully for a few months now and have been meaning to write.  All the talk
on introductions has spurred me to do it.  My name is Lisa, my husband is
Rex, and our two ferrets are Sithandwa and Spook.
 
Sithandwa is a Zulu word which means Beloved, or at least so we think.  We
found the name in a book of Zulu poetry, and according to the author's
translation....  On a day to day basis though, we call our petite, spayed,
sable ferret Sid.  Beloved is a fitting name, though.  Sid is the type of
ferret that makes people who know little about ferrets decide that they are
the best animals in the universe.  She is gentle, loving, cute, brilliant,
and playful without being rambunctious.  She also knows she is adorable and
plays it for all it's worth, often using her cuteness to get away with all
kinds of trouble.
 
Anyhow, we have had Sid for about 1 1/2 years now.  We can only guess at her
age (about 4 years.)  Sid was a street ferret.  She either escaped from her
previous owner or was set free.  She was found several hungry days later by a
little boy in Colorado Springs who found her in his parent's garage.  Dad
consulted a local pet store where my best friend (and ferret owner) works,
and made the necessary purchases to keep her.  One week later, Dad returned
to the pet store with Sid.  He decided his son was not responsible enough to
be a pet owner.  My friend purchased Sid and gave her to me as a birthday
present.  Sid is not the healthiest of ferrets, but she is one of the most
personable.  (My vets and I have been struggling to keep her well from day
one, but that is another story.)
 
Sid immediately worked her way into our hearts and we found ourselves bending
over backwards to make sure she was happy.  Not knowing her history didn't
help.  Was she used to having other ferrets to play with?  Was she lonely?
 Maybe Rex and I were imagining it, but we decided our ferret needed a
companion.  Not just any ferret would do.  We had some practice from Sid's
relationship to other ferrets she could visit: my sister's and my best
friend's ferrets.  Of the four ferrets, Sid's favorite buddy was the fat,
slow, and gentle ferret.  Rex and I also had our preferences to deal with.
 We didn't want a ferret that would teach Sid too many bad tricks, Sid is
relatively naive of many normal ferret shananigans.  Sid (after much
ferret-proofing) was allowed free reign of our home.  She doesn't get into
the trash, does not assimilate socks or shoes, and turns her nose up at most
human foods.  And she (generally) hits the litterbox.  What can I say?  Rex
and I were spoiled.
 
At the time we began contemplating a ferret companion for Sid, we went to a
Pet Expo in Denver and met a couple of the local ferret club/rescue shelters
in the area.  We set up an appointment with Ferrets Etc. to have Sid meet the
ferrets they had up for adoption.  (Ferrets Etc.-- (303)278-2518 or
(303)761-1983)
 
As a side note, the ferret groups at the expo were warning ferret owners
about ethoxyquin, a preservative found in many cat foods that had been shown
in studies to be toxic to ferrets.  I haven't heard anything about this on
the listserv or FAQ  and wonder if anybody knows anything?  Many of the high
quality cat foods contain ethoxyquin, including Iams and Science Diet.  My
vets still recommend these cat foods to me and seem confused when I mention
the issue.
 
[Ethoxyquin has been discussed on a couple of occasions, and the informed
concensus appears to be that the concerns are overblown.]
 
Anyway, we ended up adopting a spayed female albino ferret from Ferrets Etc.
 She, too, was found on the streets and taken to the local humaine society
who turned her over to Ferrets Etc.  We adopted "Mystis" on Halloween and
immediately changed her name to Spook.  Not only is she white, and a
Halloween ferret, but she is also very shy and spooks easily.  She seemed a
good companion for Sid and for us.  Sid liked Spook well enough until we got
her home.  (She could tell the difference, between just visiting and here to
stay.)  For a long while, we weren't certain whether or not we had made a
huge mistake.  Oh, the fights!  We supervised all "together times".  Although
both Sid and Spook are about the same size, Spook outweighs Sid (who has
never weighed more than a pound) by 6 ozs. at least.  Spook tried very hard
to be the dominate ferret, and Sid persevered at refusing to relinquish the
title.  One day, close to the deadline for being able to return Spook, whom
we liked but our ferret didn't, we had a strange breakthrough, that might or
might not help others in similar situations.
 
Sid and Spook were having a rip-roaring fight with lots of crying (Sid) and
hissing (Spook) with me in the background and trying to stay out of it and
let them work things through.  Finally, Spook managed to pin Sid to the floor
with her body weight.  Sid, caught and with no where to go, stopped
struggling and lay still.  After a moment, Sid attempted to turn her head,
and Spook, looking and sounding just like an alien from the movie Aliens
HISSED and moved her head (and fangs) closer to Sid's jugular.  Sid froze and
remained perfectly still for a good long time, then hesitantly moved again.
 Spook once again let out a blood-curling hiss that froze her victim into
place once again.  Once again, movement, the hiss, no movement.  Sid remained
motionless.  Then, I witnessed the single most evil and unjust action I have
ever seen.  Spook BIT Sid HARD!  For obeying!  I couldn't believe it, and
neither could Sid who let out a squeal of surprised pain.  I acted
immediately and without thinking.  I scooped Spook from off of Sid and HISSED
at her for being so cruel, just as she had hissed at Sid.  Spook was
completely startled, and froze.  I set her down away from Sid and hissed at
her once again only softer.
 
Since that incident, I have had no problems.  I seem to have become, at least
in Spook's eyes, the dominant ferret of the household.  Our two ferrets are
the best of buddies now and Spook pretty much worships Sid.  Neither ferret
is really dominant.  Spook is the better wrestler and can easily win any play
tousle.  Sid, though, is the brains of the outfit and is constantly thinking
up what to do next.  With Spook's strength she can get into all sorts of
things she KNOWS I will disapprove of, often times setting up Spook to take
the blame.
 
I don't know if I recommend hissing for every ferret owner as a form of
discipline, I personnally try to chirrup and mimic the ferret giggle during
playtime, which I feel my role as dominant ferret demands.  Hissing gets
IMMEDIATE attention from my ferrets, but depending on other ferrets'
personalities it might backfire.  Another ferret might come to dislike or
fear you if you hiss too often or inappropriately.  I reserve hissing for
only the most heinous or too often perpetrated crimes.  Once, I hissed at
Spook for scratching at the carpet only, to my dismay, to discover that Spook
had been framed by Sid.  Spook hissed back at me for the wrongful accusation
and then sulked for a while, even while I was hugging her.  I don't know my
ferrets backgrounds.  Spook may have been abused or neglected in her prior
home, which may be why she tries so hard to please me all the time, and needs
constant reassurances that Sid, Rex and I love her.  Hissing gets Sid's
attention, and she tends to stop what she is doing, but with the attitude of
"I'll humor her this time...."  Sid knows deep inside that she is really the
dominant member of the household (and she's probably right, sigh.)
 
Anyhow, those ferret owners at their wits end, might give hissing and other
ferret mimicry a try.
 
Lisa, Rex, Sid and Spook.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0909]