Melissa n gang here -
 
Just my note, non-inflammatory, on injections: BIG appended Carolyn's post
excellently; all I wanted to add is that with the proper veterinary
prescription and instructions, it can be remarkably easy to use injections
at home with a ferret (easier than other small animals, at least).  From my
personal experience, it made one recovery process much easier - Potpie
refused to take oral prednisone (she hates amoxi and ivermectin as well,
while Friday always slurped the stuff) and forcing oral treatments on her
merely worsened the relationship between her and me and didnt get the amount
of meds into her that she needed.  While at-home injections are obviously
not the first solution for everyone, and very likely shouldn't be done until
one feels comfortable with the process, they can be pretty helpful.
 
A sidenote on the well-being of my three: All three have turned into little
butterballs of fluff.  Eeeee!  Cute!  Long, silky coats (Potpie's came in
sooooo painfully slowly...still watching her for other problems), lotsa
weight gain on the girls, and lightening of coats.  Noodle has taken to
laying across my foot for extended periods of time.  I'll be brushing my
teeth, and then be reluctant to move from the sink when finished because
he's stretched across my foot in the cutest, pudgiest possible fashion.
Also, Potpie has mellowed into a cuddly arm-ferret.  Age, perhaps?  She's
3.  I'm leery of behavior changes nowadays..
 
And, after all the introducing ferrets-to-ferret talk, does anyone have any
suggestions on how to introduce a complete ferret novice to the mooselets?
(thanks for the term, Ronnie :) I'm moving in with someone who's never
had/played with/seen ferrets before - with the exception of mine, briefly -
and I need to make sure everyone gets along.  I've got some ideas...Hee.
 
And, to everyone, my warmest holiday greetings.  You on the FML are a
constant source of reassurance, amusement, and excellent information for me.
I am continually in awe at the amount of love and consideration for our pets
that each of you have; it's also nice to find a large group of people who
understand how and why i feel the way i do about my ferrets.  Regardless of
differences in opinion and disagreements, that incredibly strong common
thread is quite obviously what's made the FML the long-lived success it is.
Congratulations to every one of you!
 
I'm also thrilled to see the additional vet presences on the list recently -
woo!  rah!  go!  Help our poor, beseiged Dr. Williams!  :)
 
One last note, honest.  I don't post many congratulations or consolations on
the list, not because i don't empathize completely with the loss of a pet,
but because everyone else always says exactly what i want to say, and
because pets are lost fairly frequently, it seems, on this list.  I had an
xmas post ready to go, however, until i read the account of Buddy's passing.
It struck me - I couldn't bring myself to finish and send the post (which
was about how glad i was to be with my furrits this holiday) - and i had to
go spend extra amounts of time with each weasel.  The consolation i wanted
to send is this - that the reminder that our loved pets are mortal always
brings us to a greater appreciation and deeper love of the ones that are
with us.  Each post on the loss of a pet does spread sadness, but with it
goes the reminder that every one of us who owns a ferret is infinitely
luckier for having the chance to share our lives with these creatures.
Always remember that you have given your pet as much as they have given you.
 
With all our best wishes,
Melissa, Potpie, Friday, and Noodle
 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Melissa Litwicki                                    [log in to unmask]
    Radio Controlled Operation In Vivid Six Ways Of Movement With Reality!
[Posted in FML issue 1426]