Hi Everyone..
 
What to do when you have a cold or??  and don't want to give it to your fur
kids..
 
One simple little idea is to drop by your local hospital, go to the
maternity ward/nursery area and catch a nurse when she is not too busy..
Explain you have a cold or are trading yours with you pets back and forth
and if its not too much trouble could you impose on her for one of the
little masks they wear in the nursery and other places like the delivery
room..  these are disposable and come in two styles..  one is cup shaped and
pinches at the bridge of the nose for fit and has an elastic string to hold
it on and the other is flat[ish] and has two sets of ties to secure it..
both are very inexpensive and with rare exception the nurse will happily
give you one to use at home while you are ill..  If your local hosp doesn't
have a maternity/delivery/nursery area then stop by the surgical area and
catch the desk nurse there..  taking a little snap shot of your fuzzy is
always a good idea..  If all else fails, visit your vet [if you have a
regular one] and request one there..  in some rare instances the vets office
may ask a 25/50 cent charge for the mask.  If you have chronic bronchitis or
something reoccurant like that you may want to stop by the local medical
supply place and purchase a package of several masks in the style you like
best, to keep on hand.  With a little care they can last for weeks of daily
use.  Add a good hand scrub and you should be able to indulge your fuzzy
addiction with abandon!
 
The ferrets on ships post..  in that post it was noted that ferrets don't
have great pelts... its true they are not usually an item in the fur garment
industry..  however..  Next time you are in the art store or happen to
notice a jar full of brushes at a friends house..  ask to see the 'camels
hair brushes'.  Camels hair is very like that of sheep..  ie: curly and
bushy/furry..  no good for art brushes at all.  and those brushes are
EXPENSIVE!  What you are seeing is brushes made from the guard hair of
ferrets... After this coming up in a casual conversation my very talented
neighbour, who loves critters large and small, who was very sceptical of
this piece of information..  called the factory where her extensive and
costly collection of oil painting brushes are manufactured ..  after a few
minutes of changing the subject and evasions the sales representative
finally confessed that indeed the brushes were made from the coats of
ferrets... It took the neighbour all of two minutes to tell the sales person
what she thought of that practice and about three more minutes to jam the
brushes into a sack and send her teenager off to the college art department
with the whole collection as a donation.  She says her art work may not look
like much but she will at least not shudder when she picks up a brush to
work.  The look on her face was positively green when she had to touch those
formerly highly treasured brushes, it made her sick to think she had been
using them for years in total ignorance of the loss of precious ferret life
that had made them possible in the first place.  I have to agree with her,
the thought does tend to make my tummy do uneasy flip-flops.
 
Raptors and ferrets..  Any bird of prey large enough to take a rabbit of
modest size will take a ferret.  And cats and small dogs and parrots and any
other pet it can get a shot at.  If the animal seized poses a threat to the
hawk, owl, falcon, or eagle..  it simply rapidly goes for altitude and then
drops the prey from a goodly height and that ends the aggression on the part
of the intended meal.  I have hunted a Great Horned Owl from horse back at
night [that's why the bells on the jesses (ankle leather) on the hunting
bird - finding it in the dark] and have seen my owl take a running evading
full sized 7 lb.  jack rabbit with ease.  A one to four lb.  ferret would
pose no problem at all.  These silent night stalkers in the air are one of
the major ways Mother Nature controls the wild skunk population..  and since
skunks must have their back feet on the ground to spray once off the ground
the skunk has no defences left at all.  Even kit to med.  sized racoons are
fair game.  Kittens and puppies in the High Desert often disappear during
the night with not a sound nor trace.
 
 fuzzy swing..
 
take one sturdy basket with strong handle..  the ones that are fat in the
body of the basket with the opening slightly smaller than the basket
circumference and a rainbow shaped handle that is quite tall are best..  add
one plant hook in ceiling..  and a length of sturdy twine or clothes line..
attach line to basket handle and make a slip loop to put on ceiling hook and
pull loop snug..  now place fuzzy in basket and gently swing it in a short
arc just above the floor for a bit..  either the fur brat will rapidly start
agitating for bigger and bigger arcs when you push the basket to make it
swing..  or the little one will leap in swing and leap out and race all over
in great joy and excitement and then beg for another brief swing time and
race off again until the poor kiddo is exhausted.  some of mine crowd each
other for turns and have to be pried out when their turn is over, some are
the in-out types, and two prefer to chase and pounce and bat and help shove
the basket from the outside..  for them I attached a couple of wide ribbons
to the bottom to make the chasing and biting and shoving a bit more fun.
Something for everyone!
 
 Happy Ferreting..  dayna and the Monsters with the Munchies!!  :]
 
 "Resident of... Marvelous Menagerie Of Mirthful Mayhem"
 dayna frazier  102046,3162  13-Sep-1996  00:42:21 PST
[Posted in FML issue 1691]