First, a question: my husband was concerned because our ferret still does
not seem to reeeaaallllly enjoy the taste of his primary food, Eukanuba
kitten, and thus eats perhaps less than we would like for him to (some of
you may remember my earlier postings about Moogie the humane society rescue
who apparently was only used to eating dog food).  So, we knew he has a
sweet tooth.  I caught my husband dumping a spoonful of powdered sugar into
the bag of Eukanuba and shaking it up to coat the pieces.  The idea was to
make the food more attractive to him, so he would eat more and put on some
weight.  The question is, is this dangerous?
 
Now, the comment.  I went into one of Reno's oldest and most-respected pet
stores this weekend.  I hadn't been there in a while, and I just wanted to
see the ferrets.  The ferret cages were all empty.  There was a sign in
front of them, though, and I can't remember the exact words, but it was
warning people against ferrets.  It was saying that ferrets pose a danger
to- either other animals or people, I can't remember now, but I definitely
remember it saying that they pose a danger to small children because of
biting and that the store strongly recommends against purchasing a ferret
if you have a small child because of this.
 
I asked if they had any ferrets.  The manager said they had one, in back.  I
asked to see it.  He brought up a little baby that he said was seven weeks.
I guess he was keeping her isolated in the storeroom.  She was darling.  I
held her to me, and she was completely quiet and still, looking up at me.
She only moved to push her nose against my neck and raise herself a little
bit to hide in my hair.  I'm worried about her because, although she was
quite plump and soft and healthy-looking, she had a mat of hair under her
tail that looked like it had poop stuck in it, and the other thing is that,
at the time anyway I thought maybe she had a prolapsed rectum that was
swollen and sticking out about a quarter inch; but after we left, I got to
thinking that maybe it wasn't her rectum but her vulva?  I admit I am not
an expert on ferrets (yet!), since Moogie (a male) is my first ferret
experience.  But even if it was her vulva, it shouldn't be swollen like that
at seven weeks, should it?  And if she does have a prolapsed rectum, doesn't
that need to be treated?  Is it dangerous?  At any rate, I fell completely
in love with her and want to 'rescue' her so bad, but she costs $99 and I
just don't have the money.  My daughter was diagnosed with Lyme Disease (of
all things!) a week ago, and I just don't know yet how that is going to
affect us financially as far as medical care goes (not to mention
emotionally).  But I really really want that little ferret.  It's like she
needs me, you know?
 
What do you guys think about that sign in the window?  Personally, I think
it's going considerably overboard to post signs warning about ferrets being
dangerous animals.  It's not exactly going to create new ferret enthusiasts,
that's for sure.
 
-Vickie ("I wan' that little baaaby!!!")
-Moogie the Rainbow ("Sugar!  Sugar!  SUGAR!!!!!!!-- oops, sorry, ma, I'll
just lie on your foot, that'll make you smile")
[Posted in FML issue 2397]