I wanted to let you all know that Festus is improving, he is back on the
duck soup, but if I mix it exactly the way he likes it, he sucks it down
like there is no tomorrow (if I don't make it just right or it isn't warm
enough, he makes faces and has to chew it, and he grabs the dropper and
pushes it away, he is funny) I think he almost has me trained exactly as he
wants me now.  I sure am a believer in the Deliver 2.0 now, it is not cheap,
but it sure has helped him.  He is still very skinny, but improving daily.
Just wish he would eat dry food.
 
Rikki is doing great, she is on the Lysodren for inoperable adrenal tumor,
and to hear her tell it, she isn't sick anymore, though I know that is not
the case.  She wrote a letter to her wonderful sponsor the other day begging
for every treat and toy she could think of, it was embarassing, but her
sponsor loved it.  Rikki did not ask for one or two things, she asked for
truckloads of Pounce, truckloads of pacifiers, etc., and a special pillow
for her soft behind only it *had* to be royal blue (or purple, I can't
remember now) cuz she is "bery bery special", what a spoiled child huh?
 
Emily is great!!  She was even nice to the new kid Sadie yesterday, Emily is
very "choosey" about her friends.  She is really getting a tummy.  They have
a new tent provided by a wonderful shelter mom Alicia of Ferretwise who sent
us a special surprise gift package.  Thanks Alicia, the kids love the stuff.
Emily loves the tent.  Emily is a "more mature, and serious" type so I love
it when she finds something to enjoy, she is far too serious.
 
Toby found a home on Sunday, he will have 2 brothers named Buddy and
Scooter.  His new mom just has to figure out how to sneak him in without her
hubby realizing there is another fert in the house.  He is coming around
slowly, but not a ferret lover yet.  Linda is Toby's new mom.  Toby wanted
to go to the ferret meeting Sunday and so he and Asher and Munchie went and
Linda fell in love with Toby.  As soon as he is up on all his shots he can
go to his new home.  I think Linda is going to tell her hubby that he is a
rescue that she needs to pick up and hold for a little while "for the
shelter", then put Toby to work to get hubby to fall in love with him,
sneaky huh?
 
Went to the San Antonio Pet Expo Saturday and, of course, there was this
little girl that was not being properly cared for, in a cage with no litter
box, eating "Crave" (YUK), on pine shavings, and she was just thin as a
rail, well Crave has something like 8 percent fat and it is mostly plant and
vegetable fillers so she was slowly starving on that crap.  The lady wanted
$150 for her and the cage.  The little girl's name is Sadie, she is a light
sable.  Sadie is about 1 year old (they think), she is a MF and seems
otherwise healthy.  I walked away when she said $150, but I knew I would
come home with her.  Michael, a local club member and generous shelter
supporter and I rallied and pooled resources and talked the lady down to
$100 (for the ferret alone) <gasp> still too high, but I could not leave
without her, I would never have been able to sleep again.  So we snatched
her up grabbed some *decent* food from the San Antonio Ferret Enthusiast's
booth for the trip home, threw the box of Crave in the garbage, adapted a
styro cup into a bowl for water and came home.  (I know how I am, and the 3
others I was with are the same, so I had insisted on taking a small pet taxi
just in case, I felt certain we would come back with something, maybe not a
ferret, but something.)
 
Sadie is doing great.  The lady had said that she would not eat anything but
the Crave, but she promptly devoured the *real* food that we borrowed from
SAFE.  The lady also said that Sadie had "bonded" to her cage and that
needed to go with her or she wouldn't potty anywhere else.  (Thought you all
would enjoy a good laugh.) She promptly used the first litter box she was
offered and has ever since.  The lady knew nothing about shots she'd had or
anything.  Supposedly this ferret had been passed around from one owner to
another.  On the sign it said Sadie had to go to a *good home* but the lady
did not ask me a single question, I asked her about 20.
 
Sadie has had a ball here, and she loves playing with other ferrets.  We
will wait until we are sure she isn't going to come down with the greenies
before we start her series of Distemper shots.  She is eating like a horse
and is very playful and well behaved.  She sure is a sweetie.  She reminds
me alot of Rikki when she first came here, Rikki was extremely thin too.
Michael and I will barely get back what we paid for her when she is
eventually adopted and I will be out the cost of food, litter, and shots for
her, but I don't care, I just could not leave her there.  (Sure hope she
does not have any major medical expenses.) A funny thing, she is the same
color as Festus and she has the same long face that he has and her ears are
kind of pointed and stick up like his do too, she looks like a girl-Festus.
 
Cocoa is having not-so-good looking poops, I am going to isolate her today
to watch closely how she does.  She had a cancerous adrenal tumor removed in
December.
 
Duchess is losing or pulling out the hair on her lower back now too, vet
still says it is unlikely adrenal cause her little "you-know" isn't swollen
at all.  Donna caught her playing with her tail and pulling hair out one day,
but I am wondering how she is pulling it out on her back, maybe Cocoa is
getting revenge?  I read about a shampoo on the FML a while back that helped
a ferret to grow hair back on their tail, maybe an allergy(?) or something,
will pull up the old FML's and look that up and try to get some to try.
 
Have an obnoxious new, one year old, whole male named Bandit here now, in
rut, and being a jerk.  He is not a bad ferret, just too full of himself and
he bites when he gets too wound up somethimes, he got my foot last night
before I knew what happened, he will be neutered as soon as I have the money
for it.
 
Ally is a 4 year old, dark sable female that arrived with Bandit, though NOT
together.  She is a sweetie, still a little frightened of being picked up
and so is Bandit, but they are getting better.  I sure like Ally.  They have
not come down with the greenies yet, they are eating the shelter mix now,
and I will start Distemper shots soon for them.  I want to be sure they are
eating "enough" before I start shots, etc..
 
Sammie is eating the shelter mix now, though last night I figured out that
her favorite is Totally Ferret of the mix.  I think that is wonderful, she
has a long way to go nutritionally and I believe this food is the best for
her, I just didn't think that she would decide the same thing.  We went
through alot of battles to get her off the canned catfood and eating dry at
all, I was happy with her eating *anything* dry.  She is a 3 year old light
sable mitt/badger (wierd markings and coloration).  I have posted about her
before.  After 4 weeks on a *decent* diet, she will go in for ultrasound
($$$) and probable adrenalectomy ($$$), we may do blood tests too to be sure
she is not diabetic, no symptoms, just a previous diagnosis of that
somewhere in her past, though no one could remember the vets
name....great<sigh>.
 
Boomer is excellent, he gets Nutrical daily (for hypoglycemia) and is HUGE
compared to when he arrived, the change in his overall stamina and strength
is phenomenal.  He is extremely active and playful and happy all the time.
He is a fun kid.
 
Sam's elbow is all healed, it was a form of skin cancer, but all was removed
and the vet and the lab both say there is no reason for concern about it.  I
can't even find the scar and there were 5 stitches!  His hair is growing
back and he is acting, as always, happy, healthy, and eager to get at those
other ferrets (he is NOT a social ferret, he likes to eat the others, and
anything else on four legs) though he loves people and is the most docile
ferret while with people and not around other ferrets...go figure.
 
Munchie, Asher, and Topanga are available for adoption.
 
Guess that is it for now, gotta run...kisses to all the fuzzies.
 
Trish
[Posted in FML issue 1600]