I'm so upset ... my sweet little Bumper almost killed himself this evening!
I'm so upset I feel like throwing up!
 
We got a new piece of furniture ... an ancient record cabinet.  The
ferrets have been intensely interested in it and managed to get behind and
underneath it a couple times.  We pushed it up against the wall so they
couldn't get behind it, and almost against the wall on the other side.
 
That "almost" is what almost killed Bumper.  He tried to get in there beside
it.  It's a little narrower about 6" off the ground and gets wider about 4"
off the ground ... he stuck his head in sideways and tried to push the
cabinet away from the wall.  In trying to do this, his head slipped down to
where it was wider and wedged his head in tightly.  I don't know how long
he was like that -- I remember Roy laughing that they were trying to push
it away from the wall.  Some time later -- at *least* 30 minutes, he said:
"He's *still* trying to get it away!" and I was horrified to see the ferret
in the exact same position he was last time I looked.  NO ferret stays in
exactly the same position!  I thought he'd be dead.  As I came up to him, I
saw he was taking *very* deep breathes.  His little sides were heaving in
and out as much as they could.
 
I pulled the cabinet away -- he was wedged so tightly I couldn't even pull
his head out -- and picked him up.  He was panting, his eyes were glazed and
he had drool and foam dripping from his mouth!
 
My god, he almost suffocated while I was in the same room!  I held him for
a while, gave him water and sugary pop, he let me hold him for a while.  H
is gums were deep red ... I guess he was hyperventilating, I don't know.
He was weak but very interested in the Ferretone.  (I swear they have to be
*really* dead before they'll turn it down!) After a few minutes, he fussed
to be let down.  I think he's okay.  It's really too late to call anyone for
reassurance.
 
This is the second time I saved Bumper from killing himself.  The other time
he fell asleep in a tight coil of the dryer hose and was either running out
of air or overheating ... I shook him out and he was panting and very hot.
 
God. Sometimes I don't feel equal to the task of keeping these critters
alive!
 
--Barb--
[Posted in FML issue 2359]