Well, here's yet another post from Cassidy's new dad. I feel like I'm
hogging the List lately. I was kind of embarrassed to see I had issue 351 all
to myself. Anyway, on with our story...
 
     Yesterday I had a bit of a scare. I've been re-arranging things around my
place lately. There's a box of styrofoam packing popcorn that I normally keep
on top of a tall bookcase. Well, the bookcase was one of the things that got
moved, and I must have carelessly put the box within ferret reach, because
around 10am I found the box tipped over on the living room floor and popcorn
strewn about. I was immediately worried that my 'kids' (as I call my ferrets)
might have swallowed some. I know from the list how serious intestinal blockage
can be for ferrets, and how fast they can deteriorate (my belated condolences
on Bear, Steve). The first thing I did (other than berate myself) was examine
the popcorn to see if any of it looked chewed. Ever try to determine if a few
pieces in a box of popcorn have been chewed on? Good luck! Then I cleaned up
the popcorn and gave each ferret a bit of milk to act as a laxative. Was this
a good idea? Buddy and Cassidy sure thought so! (like most/all ferrets, they
*love* milk :). Then I separated them so I could keep track of their leavings.
After this I searched the living room for any additional pieces of popcorn that
they may have hidden away (didn't find any; hope I was thorough). Since then
Buddy has pooped 4 or 5 times (the first two were pretty liquid, and apparently
somewhat explosive; I wish I had put newspaper behind the litter pan :), and
Cassidy has pooped her usual numerous amount of times (8? 10?). It looks like
they were lucky this time. Still, this served as a reminder to me to that their
somewhat fragile lives are in my hands, and I have to be careful.
 
     Another thing. I currently have a cold, and naturally I don't want my
'kids' to catch it if at all possible. I've been trying to remember to wash
my hands before handling them or their things. Will this help? Are they likely
to catch my cold anyway?
 
     An update on Cassidy (as if you don't get enough of them already :). She's
10.5 weeks old, and up to 1 lb, 2 oz. She's gaining about half an ounce/day. Her
baby fur is gradually being replaced by courser fur, with guard hairs coming in
thicker (she almost seems to be changing on a daily basis). She's still quite a
bit lighter colored than Buddy, and still looks quite 'babyish' (especially with
that completely pink nose of hers :); will that get splotchy when she's older?).
As for litter training, maybe I just lucked out with Cassidy, but she seems to
be learning litter training quite quickly from Buddy; she usually seems to go
where she sees him go (with one exception; under my bed is also a favorite spot
for her to go, and naturally I don't keep a litter pan there).
 
     A final note: I'd just like to welcome Lorene Turner, my U of S email pen
pal (or keyboard pal) and fellow Trekker to the List. Hope you enjoy it as much
as I have, Lorene.
 
John, Buddy, and Cassidy
 
[Posted in FML issue 0354]