Hi fuzzie lovers- Had a real scare the other night - Thor is my sweetest
little DEW female (spayed)- she's got a charcoal strip from her shoulders to
the tip of her tail- She's deaf, too- She's been a real challenge- brought
her home from a pet industry trade show where she and about 50 other 5-6
week-old kits were being sold out of a single 4ft x 4 ft wire cage- several
were dehydrated- no apparent water and the food was hardened mush.  She had
a prolapsed rectum, severe flea infestation, coccidia and no hearing.  Her
cream-colored coat turned out to be white stained by urine.  Since my
husband had put his foot down about bringing another living thing into the
house, I was stunned when he hardly put up a fight at the sight of the tiny
furball- But he looked at me and said "You know- I've never gotten to name
any of our furkids- I've always wanted to have a "Thor".  I told him that
Thor was a great name- Thor it was.  He was not happy when he discovered
that Thor was a tiny, sick, deaf girl.  "Quit telling people I named her-
it makes me look stupid." At any rate, Thor is now 5 months old, a
good-sized 2 3/4 lbs - she's an expert face kisser, and of all of our 6
furkids, she's the most "human-interactive".  She also has an over-abundant
amount of energy- Like the Energizer Bunny on amphetamines.
 
Two days ago my daughter came out of her bedroom with Thor - she told me
that Thor smelled really bad and that she her bottom was wet- Sure enough,
Thor's bottom was damp- it looked AND SMELLED like she'd released her anal
glands- I've worked for small animal vets and am familiar with cats & dogs
having their anal glands expressed- Thor's little rectum also looked like it
had a tiny fissure in it- It was a skinned-looking pink bulge- I had several
panicky thoughts- Was her rectum prolasping again BADLY, did she need a trip
to the vets's at 11 pm- Had one of my other sweet ferts RAPED Thor?  I
watched her like a hawk- no bleeding, nothing hanging out- She pigged out on
a late snack- drank water- I got up every hour to check her.  She seemed
fine- except for her puffy butt.  The next morning she was herself- and her
butt looked more normal- MY HUSBAND GETS UP AN HOUR LATER- He's had a good
night's sleep- And he says "I think I know what happened to Thor's butt last
night- There were 3 tiny spots of blood on the tile in the bathroom when I
got up during the night- Like where their butts touch a few spots when they
wipe?  And in the middle of one blood spot there was a tooth." "A tooth?
One of their teeth?  I asked.  " No- it looked like she ate one of the kids
teeth-" (I have kept a few of our human children's teeth).
 
I couldn't believe that Thor would eat a tooth?  I asked my husband if he'd
saved the poopie and spots- He had not.  He had washed it up.  Had he saved
the tooth?  Yes, he had saved the tooth- When I saw it my stomach came up in
my throat- It was a piece of my fish tank river rock- a good-sized pebble
with 1 rough side- She must have found it under the bathtub rubber mat where
I dump my tank water when cleaning.  (The ferts love to wrestle with
"Octopus Monster" AKA bath mat with suction cups) THANK YOU GOD for letting
Thor pass that rock through her system- The tank water nows gets dumped
outside.  And my husband and teenagers know now to SAVE ANY UNUSUAL
POOPIE!!!  It's also a good idea to take along a stool sample when visiting
the vet- that way the vet doesn't have to upset the ferret by sticking a
plastic loop up their butts for a sample- Ferret people seem to really be in
tune with poopies- much moreso than any other pet owner.  Poopie is very
important!  It's a great health indicator- Wish more pet owners would put
away their silly attitude about poop- If they could just not be so disgusted
or embarrassed about their pet's body function, many ailments could be
caught at a much earlier stage.
 
ANYWAY- THOR IS FINE-  Everyone have a nice weekend!!!
 
Marlene B.
Bee-Bee (Got raisins?)
Tilly (please let me climb back in the garbage can!)
Megan (I'll grab your nose if you kiss me again!)
Thor (What? I didn't hear you?)
Rascal (Phew! Thor, you still stink)
Wild Thing ( Why can't I climb the turtle cage?)
[Posted in FML issue 2387]