Hi again from Leomin.,Ma.
 
I just have a couple of things I'd like to share with one and all.
 
* * * * First for those who were wondering here is a Smokey and his treats
update.
 
We picked up the 8 in 1 peanut butter treats and tried to offer some to
him.  He wanted no part of this either.  At the same time,we found a new
type of toy we picked up with the treats.  It's called a treat ball.  The
ball is a hard rubber,Hollow ball with a sliding door in it.  You put a few
treats in it,open the door just a little,then roll it around on the floor.
The fuzzies go crasy trying to get their GOODIES !
 
What we did,was to put some of their food,and just a few treats in the
ball.  All of the others got their Favorites ... but Smokey got his food!
That first day was the actual first time Smokey accepted anything
pertaining to food from Our hands!  We were just thrilled!  The trat ball
has become part of our Daily routine now.  We are Hopefull this new toy
will help encourage him to take a few goodies from our hands like our other
Kids.  * * * *
 
* * * * The second thing,is that last sunday Nov.2,Mom and I made our first
rescue of a couple of sweet little fuzzies!  They weren't really physically
abused,but their former didn't really care for them either.  They are a
couple of Sables;a 1yr.  male,he named Scratch and a 2yr. female who was
originally named Cinnamon,but he renamed Princess.  He had a 2 tier wired
cage with a metal tray.  He kept them out on a screaned in porch with a
cement floor All summer,claimed he'd bring them in during the winter
months.  He very rarely let them out,never brushed them,trimmed their toe
nails,or played with them.  The cage was all rusted and loaded with dried
and fresh mess!  When we got there he calimed he'd just cleaned their
cage,only there was mess on all three sections.  He'd made a wooden nesting
type of box with a rag shoved in it.  The nails were hammered in from the
outside to the inside,right through the rag bedding.  So the points were
inside the box where they laid down in it!  When we got them hom,the cage
and box stunk so badly we just through the box out.  Unfortunately we
cannot change their cage at this time,but we soaked it in the tub for a
couple of hours and scrubbed it as clean as possible with a wire brush.
This scraped a large amount of the rust and dried mess clear of it.I then
used a rust remover on it,and soaked it for another couple of hours.  When
we were done with the cage,we found several of the wires had just snapped
into pieces!  These we filed down so they couldn't be hurt on them.
 
We changed the former owners filthy dishes with new ones we had on hand,
their originals were covered in green mold!  We gave them a brand new water
bottle,then finally took them in for a bath where we washed them, cause
they stunk of their own mess!  Afterwards we trimmed their toe nails,
cleaned their ears and hugged and snuggled them for a few minutes!  The
poor things had no idea that we were trying to show them they were Loved
and cared for!  The first time they were let out,they found the Kid's toy
box and were at first confused by what all of those strange things were
for!  We let them be,and soon they began to take a couple of toys out,and
moved them around the room.  It nearly broke our hearts watching them,as
neith of them could relax and enjoy the toys,or the play time.  It was as
if,unlike ours these poor things didnot seem to have developed their
personalities!  Every sound they heard,they would jump almost out of their
skins,then cower like a couple of whipped puppies!
 
When they returned to their cage,we could swear,they didn't recognise it!
We are Hopefull,they will be able to over come this,and soon relax and be
as Happy as our others Kids!  What really amased us,and slao tore at our
hearts was that their previous owner had no litter pan,or box for them!  As
soon as they were cleaned and returned to their newly cleaned cage,both
went right to the new litter pan we provided for them,and Used it.  Monday
Morning I finished covering the wire mesh of their cage,and since then both
have been using the various litter pans in the ferret room diligently!  In
fact,their better than our ten wk.old Smokey who seems to believe the
litter pans are for playing and digging in,not for Messing in.  We expected
we'd have had a battle getting them to use the litter pans,but they've been
just great!  It's as if now,that at long last Everything is so clean,They
want it to Stay that way!  both are so gentle and easy going.  We just hope
they will somehow manage to come back and develop even a little of the
mischievous streak we've come to expect of the fussies we've seen,and who
owne us!  Today Tuesday we took them to the vets for a check-up.  We found
out,aswe expected that both have cold,their ears are filthy,and will take
time to fully clean,the same with their long nails.  Our vet told us,if we
hadn't taken them in,they'd probably have crossed over without Ever learning
how good Life could be!  For the time being their on amoxocillian,we'll be
patient and loving with them,and give them the time to come out of their
shells,hopefully.  We'll clean their ears again tomarrow,and trim their
nails again in a few weeks.  for now,we've begun to adjust their food to
ferret food,tottally ferret of course,we've also given a portian of duck
soupe,and we'll see how they respond to this.
 
Their previous owner had fed them friskies Cat Food!  We're mixing it with
totally ferret and giving them plenty of fresh water daily!  As for the
cage,as soon as we can,it's Going !  With these two poor little ones,that
makes our number of fuzzies upto 6 !  We shouldn't of taken them,but once
we saw their conditions,we just couldn't turn away!  The last 2 nights I've
dreamed of them and cried half the night,their gentleness and courage to
survive his Indifference is so heart breaking !  This is why I just had to
share Their tale with you!
 
We've decided to give Cinnamon back Her name,and renamed the male Spice,
instead of Scratch.  Spice seems more fitting,for his Silent courage and
spunkiness as he begins to get his feet back under him !  Today he was
waiting for us to let him out,and he even gave Smokey a little hop - skip
of a war dance!
 
That's enough of their tale for now.  I'll try to keep all interested
parties Updated!
[Posted in FML issue 2482]