Skylark,
 
In reponse to your question on how ferrets adapt to amputations, let me
introduce you to Boris Ferretloff.  Boris is a recuse who came to me about 6
months ago and is a double (triple, if you count his tail) amputee.  Boris
lost both of his hind feet and tail when his previous owner left him outside
in a metal cage in Ohio during last winter's harsh Arctic blast.  As a
result, Boris froze to the bottom of his cage and was forced to gnaw his
feet free.  The previous owner, then took Boris and his cagemate Anastasia
across the state line to Kentucky and abandoned them at a local animal
shelter.  Happily, one of the people there was connected with the
organization Skunks As Pets (SAP) and Boris and Anastasia were not
euthanized, but treated.  The wonderful woman searched her friends in SAP
and discovered the modest rescue and refuge I run and in very short order
Boris and Anastasia arrived here.  Of course, they had no real names (the
SAP lady called them Hero and Baby).  After much searching and while
watching an old Boris Karloff movie, I decided to name the male Boris
Ferretloff since Boris Karloff was such a gentle man who often played
deformed characters.  His tiny cagemate was christened Anastasia because of
her shy, but regal manner.  Both are now very happy members of my household.
 
Boris acts as if having no hind feet is the most natural thing in the world.
On hardwood or smooth floors, he throws his stumps behind him and pulls
himself along almost as fast as the other ferrets romp around.  When on
carpeting or in the grass, Boris jumps up on his stumps and runs around as
fast as most of the other ferrets here -- he is actually faster than two of
the other ferrets.  Shortly after arriving here, Boris also demonstrated
that being old ( he is estimated at 5+) and a double amputee has not
diminished his capabilities.  The day he arrived, I also received an
emergency rescue of two whole ferrets -- a beautiful red sable and a tiny
albino female.  The albino (now named Tiny) was terribly emaciated and well
into heat.  My vet declined to spay her in such a weakened condition and was
leary of bringing her out of heat with hormones and suggested I relax my
no-breed rule in this case since I had the red sable hob.  Boris, however,
had other ideas and promptly beat Puck ( the red sable) into submission and
took Tiny with a firm gentleness.  Unfortunately, Tiny's two kits were still
born.  The good news is that she now has a luxurious fluffy coat and is
nicely plump -- not fat, just a good healthy fullness to her.
 
For the most part, ferrets and other animals accept disabilities and
limitations as things they cannot change and get on with the important
things in life -- like playing, eating, sleeping, stealing the remote
control and changing satellite channels, and conning me out of a little
extra ferretone.
 
Scott and the Fantastic 15
[Posted in FML issue 1828]