Hi Frances,
 
I don't know quite what to do about a ferret that is now used to
being bottle fed, but I wanted to comment on one thing you said:  "I
had been warned that she might not eat for a day or two but that
she would not starve herself to death"
 
I think you were misinformed.  I'm pretty sure that ferrets will
starve themselves to death if presented with food that they don't
like.  My theory is that it's not really that they're being finicky,
it's that they don't recognize it as food.  There's supposed to be
(according to the FURO book of ferrets) a period during early
development (8-12 weeks?) during which the ferret develops scent
receptors for food.  If the ferret isn't exposed to a variety of
foods during that period, she won't be interested in anything but
the food that she's eaten then.
 
I wonder if Mabel is less likely than usual to eat a foreign object
like many ferrets I know?
 
Good luck getting her off the bottle!
 
Dennis
[Posted in FML issue 1291]