To Tracy, Re the hacking ferret...
We had some trouble with this. A couple of possible (but by no means
an exhaustive list) causes are:
(1) Litter: our Winston got nasty runny eyes and a bad hack from some kind
of "scoopable" litter, and then again from some litter with amonia or
something in it. Got a good litter and lost the hack.
(2) Could be a cold of some kind: since he's eating and playing normally,
this seems unlikely. (Don't worry about the PLAY! [Lie Down] PLAY! [Lie down]
thing: perfectly normal behaviour)
(3) Hair-balls. If the ferret is shedding or if you notice a lot of loose
hair around the house, he might be getting it stuck in his throat. Try a
hair-ball laxative made for cats. Any other ideas, hack-hack?
Love,
Otter
[Posted in FML issue 0687]