I had a young ladies' mom call me and ask to take in her ferrets last
February, 2010. (She was referred by our local shelter) I told them
"Yes, bring them by". and received two ferrets, that I was told they
were 5 years old, and the young lady had to go into rehab and could not
keep them as she was having trouble taking care of herself. They were
thin, and quiet, but with horrible potty box issues. Ollie-Fur was a
silvered out male with a bright pink nose, and his girlfriend Lollie,
a biter, is a beautiful sable much loved by him. They often sleep
together even though there are lots of kids in their large cage to
snuggle. definitely bonded.

We tackled the potty box first, by putting clean blankets everywhere
we didn't want them to go. They were kept in a large play area until
they were good at the potty box thing. Now they roam my house with no
problems. Oliver known as Ollie-Fur turned out easy going,and gentle
love and handling everyday made him more trusting. He didn't bite us
at all like his girlfriend, Lollie. Neither ferret had any issues with
other ferrets, though, which turned out well, as they can all play
together.

We found out that he was adrenal, and that he had insulinoma. Even with
proper care, love and meds, Ollie seemed sad. He rarely would interact
with the other ferrets. I was worried. I have had them over a year, and
I had never even seen him bounce. I knew he was feeling better, because
he was now trying to stash the younger ferrets under the sofa.I was so
glad they seemed to tolerate this well, because sometimes they would
just make it back out, and there he went again grabbing them by the
scruff and dragging them back under the sofa.

Yesterday the kids let the ferrets out to run while I went to get
groceries. When I came in the house, I shut the door and looked down.
Ollie was laying on his side looking at me rather goofy. I was like
"Oh my goodness Ollie, Momma pushed you over with the door!" I took
my bags to the kitchen, and came back to see him, and I don't know
what happened, but Ollie had on his squirrel pants! He was bouncing,
attacking and tustling with the other ferrets, which was hilarious
because you could tell they were not used to him doing that. They
stopped, looked at him, then were like"Okay Ollie, Let's play!". I
don't know who was happier me or him. I got down and played with the
whole bunch. It was a blast. Did I ever say "I love ferrets?" Well, I
should have. I say it vocally every day, my kids think it's my motto.
Taking in Slightly Used Kids can be a challenge, but these small
triumphs, these little joys, they make it so worth the time and effort.
They have given me as much as I have given them......Me thinks I shall
always be owned by ferts.....

Warm thoughts to all who work with these wonderful little guys. I know
if they could speak our language, they would say "thank you", but for
now, I'll settle for a bounce from Ollie.

Cindy & the Slightly Used Ferret Gang
Ollie, Lollie, Dobbin, Zoe, IzaDora(ble), Ham, Cheese, Chepe,
and Martin

[Posted in FML 7002]