I've got a pair of fuzzies.  They're about 2 1/2 - I've had them for a year
now.
 
I'm not home a whole lot - the company I worked for when I got them moved to
a different city, and my new job requires a lot more of my time.  When I'm
not home, they have the run of a big bedroom with lots of toys.  When I am
home, they get the run of the apartment.  Trouble is, I'm not home all that
much anymore - they get my undivided attention maybe 2-3 hours a week.  Some
nights I come home late, just let them out of the fuzzy room while I empty
litter boxes, clean up around the litter boxs, clean water/food bowls, and
so on, then they go in the cage, get their evening Pounce, and I go to bed.
 
They get their shots, they eat Totally Ferret, they get taken to the vet
every time they sneeze :), and I keep their nails clipped.
 
My male seems perfectly happy with this arrangement.  He's always happy to
see me and doesn't seem upset when I don't have much time.
 
My female has always been a biter.  And I know the more time I spend with
her, the less she bites.  She's getting worse, lately, to the point where I
can expect to be bitten almost anytime I'm playing with her.  Time-outs work
well, but when I only have half an hour to play with them, I hate to make
her spend part of that time being punished.
 
I don't see my available time changing much in the near future.
 
So I made a decision Monday: I called the local ferret shelter, told them I
had a pair of fuzzies that needed a home.  A guy who was interested called
me this morning, and I was crying too much to even be able to talk to him.
But it seems terribly selfish to want to keep them when I really don't spend
as much time with them as they obviously need.
 
I read the FML, and I see all these people who spend hours and hours a day
with their fuzzies.  I just can't do that anymore.  But I also see people
who let them out of their cages an hour a week - and I'm not nearly that bad.
 
Is it just wishfull thinking that someone else will spend more time with
them then I do?  My boyfriend thinks I'm nuts - their last owner kept them
in a cage, never messed with them, hardly ever left them out.  Compared to
him, yeah, I'm doing pretty good.  Am I just being a perfectionist here, and
risking sending them off to a home where they're less happy, just because I
don't think I'm doing well enough?  Or am I right, because I'm really not
spending enough time witht them?
 
The p coming to meet the ferrets on Sunday.  So I have until then to make a
final decision - do I keep them, or do I let them go?
 
Any suggestions?  And if I do let them go, any suggestions to make this
whole process less painful for all of us?
 
Tina Marie
(and Toggles and Slinky, who can't understand why I suddenly burst
into tears everytime I pick them up...)
[Posted in FML issue 2131]