Hi All!
 
Why do ferrets dig in their food bowls?
The piece they want is on the very bottom, of course!
 
Babies In
A friend turned her 8 14-week old babies over to me to work with
and get them ready for adoption.  She doesn't have the room or time
to work with them and they are quite nippy.  Willow didn't like them
the first night, but the following morning I noticed he was being
followed EVERYWHERE by 4 littler ones.  He tolerated this quite
nicely, being an idol and all!
 
Screaming
Last night the same friend asked if I'd bathe her ferrets (2 girls and
1 boy - parents of the babies) - she'd rescued them from a man that
bought them at an exotic animal auction and kept them outside and
fed them live mice! - and because of their previous treatment they
are hard to handle.  Well the first time she tried to bathe them was
a disaster (I wasn't there but heard about it later).  It seems they are
deathly afraid of water!  She thought the breeder may have hosed
down the ferrets when cleaning cages (by the way, I am looking into
this and WILL press cruelty charges [if I can abstain from wringing
his neck first] if I find evidence to do so).  Except for a little
struggling, the first female did fine but when I started to do the other
female - she panicked!  I'd never heard a ferret scream but she let
out an ear piercing scream that set her sister off and we had our
hands full trying to calm the girls.  Of course we were unable to hug
or cuddle them as they were both thrashing around and
SCREAMING.  The most we could do was support them, gently pet
their backs and talk soothingly.  It must have been five minutes
before they settled down.  In my 9 years of working with ferrets I
have never heard such a scream.  I'm sure my neighbors thought we
were murderers!  As soon as they settled, we cuddled, hugged,
kissed and reassured them.  I did bathe the little girl, without further
fuss.  Guess she just had to get it out of her system.  Bless their little
hearts.  We let them run and play with the others and everyone
seemed fine, except perhaps for us.  Abuse is not always on the
outside.  Part of the problem is that they spend most of their time
caged.  It's a large cage but they lack the human-ferret interaction
that creates trust.  Now that I have the babies, she will be working
on socialization with the adults.  There's much more to ferret
guardianship than just feeding, watering, and cleaning.
 
Chanda and Fergison
Mine won't eat ferret food either so I use a wide-range of good
quality cat and kitten foods.  Iams is readily eaten by most when
mixed with Deli-Cat (32% protein - Purina) and Friskees, Wiskas, 9
Lives, Kal-Kan canned (chicken & rice), Honey nut tasteeos, tender
vittles, Science Diet, and occasionally A/D and ferret food is on our
ferret menu.  Everyone has soft shiny coats and normal energy
levels.  Gizzie will only eat Wiskas or Friskees and it has to be
moistened with water.  He has medical problems and I cater to him
to keep him eating - so far so good.  If you spritz the food with water
it brings out the aroma and makes it more appetizing.  Hope this
helps.
 
What song comes to mind when kits leap off of furniture when you're
waaay across the room?  "Fly Like An Eagle"!
 
What song comes to mind when a ferret in Kansas escapes?
"Going To Kansas City"!
 
Hugs to all fuzzies!  tle
 
[Posted in FML issue 0887]