Dr. Brown,
 
Thanks for the info on "when it is time..." Trouble is, we're talking about
a ferret who has always been reserved and avoided human contact. We got him
at the age of 4, undernourished and shy. We were able to get him to eat, and
our other ferret was able to get him to bounce around and tone his muscles,
but he'd only let Wednesday touch him, not us. I don't know if the previous
owners abused him or never handled him, but he was found by them wandering as
a stray kit in the slums of Chicago. When we try to pick him up, he tends to
shiver hard, and so we rarely do it - it seems to make him unhappy.
 
He doesn't play with Wednesday any more - they still curl up to sleep together,
but that's all. The incontinence we don't mind cleaning up after, but his eyes
are not bright or focused; we think he is blind since he keeps bumping into
things. He does still have a will to eat, though he no longer has all his
teeth. We certainly want him around with us as long as he can stay, but we
don't want to keep him in pain to have that.
 
How do you tell if a ferret grinds their teeth?
 
thanks,
Geri
 
[Posted in FML issue 0790]