It seems that when it rains, it pours.  Molly threw up yesterday, and we
brought her to the Towne and Country Animal Center in Brighton.  She also
turned out to have diarrhoea (sic).  The vet said it was either a
gastrointestinal problem (infection maybe) or an intestinal blockage --- she
took two x-rays, but they weren't too conclusive, and she said that she
might have to do a barium test to coat Molly's insides to see if there's
something blocking things.  Today we're bringing her in to our regular vet,
Dr. Vicki Daldin, where they said she might have to be hospitalised.
 
Another trouble is that our fourth ferret, Wookie, isn't getting along with
the other three --- he's very big, and he seems to relish pinning them down
by biting their throat and holding them down/dragging them around.  It's
really rather strange because he gets along with people really well; looks
ferocious when you fight-play with him, baring all his impressive teeth, but
he never bites.
 
For the vets on FML, please give us a little advice on what we should do
with Molly: She's been listless, sleeps a lot, threw up what looked like
chewed up half digested kibbles (no blood), her diarrhoea is a yellow liquid
with bits of what looked like digested kibbles in it (again no blood).  Her
lower abdomen is slightly swollen.
 
There's no question that Molly's vet bills are going to be enormous,
especially if they have to do surgery.  My husband and I talked for several
hours this morning and decided that we'd have to give up one of the ferrets.
We simply don't have the money to spend if more than one of them gets sick
(and we also have to pay for Molly's bills), and there seems to be a greater
chance of that happening with four.
 
So we're putting up our newest fuzzy for sale.  It's the most logical
choice, since we haven't gotten as attached to him as we have the others,
and he also seems to belong either in a one-ferret-home or a home with a
ferret close to his size (that is, around 5 pounds).  Here's the
information:
 
Wookie: 5-pound, 7 month old male black silver mitt.  Neutered and
descented, distempered but not rabies vaccinated.  He has a golden-apricoty
tone to his undercoat, and his guard hairs are silver and black.  His chubby
white face and wide stubby feet make him look almost like a teddy bear.  He
is very sweet with people, but (like most ferrets) likes to bite toes, and
is very meek when scruffed/scolded for doing something wrong, and looks at
you with a woebegone, "Why me?" expression.  He dooks a lot --- 90% of the
time he is out of the cage you can hear him chuckling as he chases the other
ferrets or wardances around.  He also tends to get stuck in small places
when he is playing with the other ferrets, but usually manages to squeeze
out slowly.
 
We'd like to sell him for what we paid: $150.  If you are interested in
purchasing a ferret (or know someone who is), please email me.  We live in
the Ann Arbor, MI area.
                              Anna and Martin G.-R.
 
P.S. - Please don't send us email saying that we shouldn't sell one of
our fuzzies, etc., find another way.  We would if we could, but we can't.
[Posted in FML issue 1514]