Bill Killian said that to check if your ferret is fat, hold it by the
armpits and check for bulges below the ribcage area.  Does a potbelly count
as a bulge?  You know, the type of potbelly a kit has at around 8 weeks?
All mine have a bit of a tummy.
 
Portnoy (male, 11 months old) lost his cagemate on Sept 23.  HodgePodge was
the most wonderful ferret I've ever encountered.  I would toss a toy across
the floor, and he would bound after it, get it, and run stash it under the
bed.  Sometimes it would stop rolling, and he couldn't find it.  Then I'd
yell "To your left" or "right", and he would go in the direction I said,
every time.
Well, now that HOdge is gone, Portnoy has been depressed, as I expected.  I
got Oscar Potato Spud, a male kit, and Portnoy likes him.  But Port's
energy level seems to be *so* low.  Is he just still depressed?  How long
will he stay depressed?  I give him lots of attention.  He was a bad biter,
but since Hodge died, he hasn't bitten at all.
 
Oh, two more things.  First, to the person who did CPR on his ferret: Your
story left me breathless, and I am truly impressed by your skill and
bravery (you do have to be brave to do the Heimlich).
 
Also, if a ferret has lost muscle mass due to ece, will it come back in
time?  Fleurette (female, 3 1/2 yrs old) seems to have lost mass around her
thighs on her back legs.  She falls over really easily.  Will exercise and
lots of food build her muscles up again?  Dr. williams?
 
Thanks, take care,
        Carol-Anne, POrtnoy (male MF sable) and Oscar (male MF sable mitt),
Fleurette and Lucy (female MF silver mitts)
Rest In Peace my beloved HodgePodge (Oct.19,1994-Sept 23,1995)
 
******************
ad hominem:appealing to one's prejudices rather than to reason, as by
attacking one's opponent rather than debating the issue.
 
"It won't give up, it wants me dead. Goddamn this noise inside my head."
 - Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails
******************
[Posted in FML issue 1374]