Hello my fellow ferret fanciers.
 
I am writing about 2 things today.  First, yet another reminder of how fast
things can happen and how carefull we need to be.  Every week when ferret
blankets are washed, before they are folded and put into the ferret blanket
box (is this another "you know you are a ferret owner when they have their
own blanket box filled to the brim with blankies" - not hard to do when you
have 9), I check for holes and frayed edges.  Some blankets are sewn
(another "you know you are a ferret owner when the only reason why you have
a sewing machine is to sew and repair ferret blankets and toys) from towels
and some from flannelette sheets.  Sometimes, when the towels get older, the
edges separate from the towel and creates a loop.  I watch for that, cut off
the loop and sew a new hem.  Today, as Buddy must have been scratching his
blanket to make a more comfortable bed, the trim from his towel came loose
and he managed to get his head through it.  We were both away for the
evening and when we came home, it was bed time so we made our rounds with
the ferrets, making sure everyone had enough water and food, plus it is
Buddy and Josie's turn to be out for the night.  I opened the cage to let
Buddy out and he moved rather awkwardly.  I noticed he was caught and had
twisted the loop around his neck tighter and tighter.  Lucky for him he gave
up and went to sleep but if he had twisted around a few more times and the
loop didn't break, we could have come home to a chocked to death ferret.  I
don't need to get flamed for this.  We care deeply for our crew and do
everything we can to keep them safe.  We worry about them when we are out -
even when they are in their cage because it doesn't matter how carefull you
are, bad things can happen and we almost had another tragedy.  I am just
telling you this story as a reminder to keep a carefull watch on the kids
blankets after every washing and be sure any holes and loops are taken care
of before you fuzzy gets it.
 
The second things has to do with our Sadie.  She is a spayed famale about 4
years old and has never been sick in the 2+ years that we had her.  I have
noticed that her poopie smelled a bit more rank than any of the others but
she ate fine, drank more than the others, I felt, played normally and all
seemed well.  I clean her litter pan twice a day (even though she is out 4
(+/-) hours a day) and I clean all of the other litter pans only once a day.
A few weeks ago she barfed (what came out was soaked food that was just a
wee bit lighter in color than the food you soad for duck soup) but in all
other respects she seemed normal.  About 3 days later she barfed again, and
again seemed normal in all other respects.  About another 3 days later she
did it again.  I would sure appreciate some opinions on what could be the
cause of this odd behaviour.  Some of you may remember me talking about
Snoopy.  She did this all of her life and we could never figure out the
cause (both us and the vets were stumped) and in her last year she finally
just wasted away and died.  The vets couldn't help her and she wouldn't keep
food down and had a bad case of diarrhea.  Could Sadie be developing ulcers?
I don't think there is a blockage because she eats and drinks and poops
normally.  Why barf on such a regular basis?  Ideas anyone.
 
Thanks again for your help.
 
Tryntje Miller
[Posted in FML issue 2352]