Thought I'd put in my two cents as well.
 
Once I had a little fuzz-girl called Cassie.  She was Daddy's precious
little angel, so clever, so sweet and loving, and so well-behaved!  (I
know, you're thinking "A well-behaved ferret?  Impossible!" :).  Cassie
was healthy her whole life.  She was coming up on 8 years old and had
never had a serious illness, unlike Sammy who was two years younger and
had already been through cataracts, adrenal disease and insulinoma.
 
Then Cassie had a stroke, and though she was recovering, a month later
she died when another blood clot destroyed part of her intestine.  As it
turns out, she had malignant cancer in multiple organs, adrenal disease
and insulinoma, but she never showed any symptoms till that final month.
 
Cassie's loss hit me hard.  For a year I wrestled with depression, and
debated whether to ever get ferrets again after Sammy, the last of my
'original 3', would pass away.
 
I finally came to the realization that for me it was worth the worry,
heartache, and the bills for all the joy these precious angels bring into
my life.  When I asked myself if I would give up my time with Cassie in
order to avoid the heartache of losing her, the answer was a resounding
"No!".  I wouldn't trade my time with her for anything.
 
So, about a year after losing Cassie I brought two new babies into my
life, Buster and Pandora.  Sadly I lost Sammy a couple of months later,
but he had been declining for about 6 months from gradual liver failure,
and Sammy had had so many miraculous recoveries and had touched so many
people with his sweet nature, that I felt some comfort in his loss.  And
I was so glad to have Buster and Pandora; the house would have been so
empty without them.
 
The tragedy doesn't end there; Buster passed away a few months ago, not
even 9 months old, of splenic lymphoma.  He was a big, beautiful bear of a
ferret, 4.25 pounds of love and softness.  And though I'd started saving
$25/month per ferret when I got these two, it didn't scratch the surface
of his vet bills.  I didn't expect to need the money so soon, and we
didn't even know what killed Buster till after he was gone (he originally
went in for a bowel obstruction, and just kept getting worse after
surgery).
 
It was hard to lose Buster at so young an age.  But I've realized that
none of us knows how much time we have, and must accept what time we have
together as a blessing.  Certainly I'm glad to have known such a sweet
boy as Buster, and to have shared some happiness with him in his brief
time on this earth.
 
Since then I've welcomed another big friendly boy into my life.  Tommy
will be 16 weeks old tomorrow, and is already over 3 pounds.  He may end
up bigger than Buster!  Pandora gradually accepted her new playmate, and
now they are the best of friends.
 
Everyone has to decide for themselves whether ferrets are worth the
heartache of losing them at half the age of a dog or cat.  And I admire
those who recognize their limits, financial or otherwise.  I've never had
more than 3 ferrets at a time; usually just two, and for me that's the
right number.  I think I'll always have some ferrets in my life; I can't
imagine my life any more without them.
 
--
John Rosloot, Caregiver to Pandora and Tommy
With loving memories of my Big Buster Boy
my dear departed Buddy,
my precious little Cassie-angel,
and my Silly Snuggly Sammy
http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~rosloot/ferrets
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[Posted in FML issue 3775]