Greetings FML people,
 
I've been a lurker for quite some time; unfortunately, my first post arises
out of semi-panic.  It's not 100% ferret-related, but it definitely affects
my ferrets and you guys seem to know everything so I thought maybe somebody
could help me.  Please send any responses to me privately as well as the
list; I don't always have time to read the digests these days.
 
I'm the mom of two beautiful big healthy ferrets, Mortimer and Seymour,
along with two cats.  I've been a ferret owner for 15 years (although these
boys are both under two).  And before anyone yells at me, I fall firmly in
the camp that does *not* give up one's pets because they're no longer
convenient, and this is not an attempt to do so.  (Which is also not meant
as a swipe at those who have truly insurmountable reasons for doing so.)
 
But I've fallen madly in love with a man who has extremely severe asthma.
Not only can he not be anywhere near my pets, I have to practically
sterilize myself before I can get too close to him.  The immediate problem
is that I also have two jobs, and am spending much of my "spare" time with
someone who can't come to my apartment, so my pets are alone an awful lot.
They're fed and cleaned up after properly, I'm not leaving them alone *that*
much, and my sister stops over and visits them on a regular basis, but I
still feel like a terrible mother.
 
I've recovered from serious allergies myself, so I know that's possible with
the right diet, but I know very little about asthma.  We're talking about
moving in together (and to his credit, he has never even thought of
suggesting that I give away my babies), which would allow me to spend more
time with the pets, but I'm not sure how we can do it.  I'm wondering if we
kept the beasties in one room and maybe got some sort of a mega air filter,
would that be good enough?  Or do we just have to move next door to each
other?  <g> He's always just handled it by not having any pets except
reptiles, so he doesn't really know any more than I do.
 
Has anyone had any experience with this?  I'm just scared to start
experimenting blindly... I mean, this isn't sneezing & scratchy eyes we're
talking about.  He could *die.* Is there any hope for a woman who doesn't
want to sacrifice the well-being of either the animals she loves or a very
special human being?  Any advice at all will be almost pathetically
appreciated.
 
Elizabeth
[Posted in FML issue 2110]