Hi y'all!
 
Haven't been a member of the FML for a while...don't know if you guys
remember Cassie and Chloe...
 
ANYway, down to business.  I think I have a depressed ferret.  This past
Sunday, the 22nd, my friend came by to drop off his ferret, Kibbie (isn't
that an adorable name?).  My friend was giving Kibbie to me because he
said he didn't have enough time for him.  He was afraid Kibbie wouldn't
have enough playtime out of his cage.
 
So.  I have, once again, landed myself with a new ferret.  I will not say
unfortunately, because I do not regret taking in another fuzzie. :-)
 
My problem(s) is/are: Kibbie is at least six years old.  Which is, from
what I've read, pretty old for a ferret.  He has kind of slowed down
now, since he's past his prime, and he's very mellow and on his way to
becoming a lap ferret.  He has been an only ferret all of his life.  I
guess being alone with humans for six years would make you kind of
anti-social towards other ferrets, huh?  That's exactly how he acts.  He
does NOT like being around Cassie and Chloe AT ALL.  Both of whom are a
little more than a year old.  It would seem as if they are murdering him,
the way he screams and squeals when they get near him.  And from what I
can see, they are not doing him any harm whatsoever!  They merely sniff
at his ears and rear end...is that a bad sign?
 
I'm sorry, but when I got Chloe this wasn't a problem.  I mean, Cassie
had been alone for only a few months, and after a couple of days she
accepted Chloe.  But Kibbie seems to want nothing to do with either of
them.  Personally, I think they'd both be just fine with Kibbie, but
Kibbie continues to reject them noisily.  I mean, Cassie just chuckles
and chuckles when he attacks her...maybe she thinks the act of an old
man attacking her is funny or something, I don't know.  Chloe is a
little intimidated by him, I must say, but she doesn't hurt him.
 
All Kibbie does is follow me around, and when I'm reading and the other
two are happily wreslting and having a good ole time, he does the
'flat-ferret' thing at my feet.  I don't think he's eating either.  I
haven't seen any fresh stool in his litter box, and his food dish level
hasn't gone down any, that I can tell.  He just lays around all day.
(He's not very well litterbox trained either, I might add.  He will still
go in the corners when I let them out, and my ferrets will go into their
cage no matter what to relieve themselves.  Suggestions?)
 
Please help me in this!  I don't want to resort to giving him up!
 
Thanks a bunch!
 
Heidi
[Posted in FML issue 4189]