Yes, I strongly believe ferrets have emotions. The emotion discussed
here so far have had to do w/ a ferret's sense of losing a cagemate,
a human, etc.

On 20 January, we lost my little Ariel. Ariel was my Miracle Baby. At
not quite 7 yrs of age, she survived many health crises. At not quite
2, she had her left adrenal removed. At age 3, she began to experience
severe lethargy, & her nose, ears, & even gums were turning white.
Test after test turned up nothing. Even an exploritory surgery showed
everything as being normal. Several months later, an xray taken at
exaclty the right moment showed an enlarged heart. After a bunch of
tests (echocardiograms w/ doppler studies, several long ECG strips),
it was determined she had a heart condition that is undocumented as
occuring in ferrets. However, we were able to keep her healthy on
about $6 per month.

About a yr ago, Ariel's right adrenal went bad, so we started her on
Lupron. She did really well on it. She didn't play as hard as she
used to, but she & I had a game she taught me how to play - Steal the
Cheweasel. She's take a Cheweasel from me, take it to her hidey hole, &
wait for me to take it back. Then she'd come & take it away from me
again. This could go on for maybe 10 or 15 min at a time.

The last wk of her life, she suddenly was reluctant to eat. She became
very unsteady. Tests showed that she was apparently going into renal
failure. She kept getting worse. The whole time, though, all she wanted
to do was play Steal the Cheweasel w/ me. Our wonderful vet kept her
in the office for 2 days, first tube feeding her, then syringe feeding
her. She seemed to get slightly better. Then, she suddenly became
extremely unsteady. She could barely walk. All she could do was fall
over on one side, drag herself to her feet, only to immediately fall
over again. Still, she'd drag herself of her hidey hole, trying to play
Steal the Cheweasel w/ me. It was breaking my heart. It became obvious
that it was time to let her go.

Although we've yet to get the histopathology reports back, the necropsy
was a complete shock to our vet. He said there was no logical reason
she should have been alive. She was riddled w/ cancer. Her liver was
flourescent orange & full of lumps. Her right adrenal was huge,
cancerous, & adheared to her on kidney, which also appeard to be
cancerous. The other kidney was loaded w/ cysts. Her spleen was about
in the same condition as her liver. It's also possible that, at the
end, she may have had a stroke, which could have caused her inability
to walk. Her heart, however, was almost perfect.

My vet, my husband, & I all sincerely believe that it was Ariel's love
for us, her sheer willpower, & her desire to make us happy, that kept
her alive. She & I were completely bonded. Since she's left us, I feel
as if half of my soul has been ripped away. But I really believe Ariel
stayed w/ us because she didn't want to break my heart, & because she
didn't want to be separated from me.

I miss you, my Baby Girl. Please wait for me. I'm lost w/out you.

Lin

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email me at:  kay tee en eye el at double-u owe aich dot ar ar dot see
owe em
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[Posted in FML 5513]