Hi y'all,
 
  I wanted to let you know that Snookie and I emailed CBS.  We also
e-mailed Paul Irwin and Rachel Lamb of HSUS.
 
  I wanted to ask if anyone out there has every encountered a ferret that
was not even phased by Bitter Apple?  I am still in the process of re-litter
training Snookie.  I bought a small spray bottle of Bitter Apple (the kind
that you're supposed to spray on plants).  I sprayed it on the area where
I did *not* want Snookie to potty.  A few minutes later she went to that
spot....and....well....the Bitter Apple *didn't* work!  :-(     I later opened
the bottle and let her sniff it.  She acted like, "well, OK, so what?"  I
saw some Bitter Apple in a tube.  I guess it's a paste-type substance.
Should I have used that?  Will it stain the baseboard/carpet?
 
  Someone mentioned a "wheezing" ferret recently (I'm sorry, but I can't
remember who it was).  Snookie will sometimes do this...not at any
specific time...sometimes while playing, sometimes while just walking
around.  She'll sometimes cough while she's wheezing, so I thought it
might be a hairball.  The vet didn't find anything (just a visual inspection)
and said that some dogs will have a "backwards cough" where, instead
of exhaling while coughing, they inhale.  (Maybe doctor Williams can
verify this(?))  The vet said to give Snookie 0.5-inch of Laxatone twice
a week and, that even if it wasn't a hairball, the Laxatone would not
harm her.  Snookie's shots are due in November.  Should I take her
back before then for x-rays?  The "wheezing" is not constant, nor does
it even happen every day.
 
Oh, I just remembered...when Snookie gets into one of her scratching
moods, she'll tend to scratch the same spots.  It this normal?  Also,
I'm not sure if this is due to the scratching, but a "spot" has developed
on her side.  It's not a "spot" where the hair has fallen out or looks
inflamed...but...it's kind of discolored (kind of light brown-ish) and the
hairs there are little more coarse).  When I inspect the spot, she gets
a little impatient, but I can't tell if it's because it's tender (she doesn't
like to be held very much as it is).  Any information would be appreciated.
 
Thanks,
 
Mark Zmyewski (and Snookie, who has now resorted to pulling the
 newspaper *away* from the wall so she'll have nice *clean* (well,
 not so clean anymore!) carpet to poop on!!  Oy!)
[Posted in FML issue 1221]