Hello!
 
I'm new to the group and I'll just introduce myself.  My name is Melissa
and I live in Belleville, Ontario Canada.  At the moment I am staying at
my mothers in Elliot Lake, Ontario Canada.  I have a ferret and a kitten.
The ferret's name is Zamarzony but we call him Zama for short.  I
purchased him from Super Pet and they have been really great with all the
questions I have had.  He will be a year old on November 12th.  He is
fixed and descented.  I used to think he was a tubby from all the books
I had.  The ferrets in the book look all tiny and skinny, but then when
I see other ferrets he's pretty small.  I believe he weighs somewhere
around 3 lbs and has a bit of a belly!  A couple of months ago I decided
to get a kitten.  I figured he might be a little scared but they are the
best of friends!  When I came to my parents house I was also worried
because they have 2 older cats and 3 dogs.  He is great friends with all
of them except for the oldest dog who is just cranky to everyone!
 
While I was at my mothers I found out I needed to go back to my house for
a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, my mother begged me to leave him
there with her.  A couple of days later I recieved a phone call asking me
to look around for ferrets.  I remember reading all the sad stories on
various ferret shelter websites and convinced my mother to adopt a ferret
instead of buying one from a store.
 
I found a shelter in Ottawa and sent my mother the webpage.  She fell in
love with two ferrets pictures (they had to be adopted together) and I
made contact with the shelter.  On Wednesday, Oct. 16 I drove the 4
hours to get to Ottawa (A much larger city then mine and I drive in the
downtown area during rush-hour and I don't even drive near christmas in
a smaller town).  I picked up the two girls and brought them back to my
house.  They are very tiny and quite skinny.  I spoiled them rotten at my
house and on the Friday I drove the 8 hours to Elliot Lake so they could
meet their new mommy!
 
At the moment they are still shy - and very tired.  I think that they may
be tired because they are so tiny - but they do eat a lot!  We have tried
feeding them cooked chicken, turkey and eggs but they don't seem to
realize it is food - or they just aren't interested.
 
Zena and Topaz (the two little girls) are about 2 and a half years old.
They get along well with each other.  Zama (my ferret) really wants to
play with them and Topaz seems to like him so much she pins him down and
cleans him - which scares him and he tries to run away or makes a pitiful
little cry.  Zena on the other hand mauls him and he just lays still.
Then suddenly she will get angry with him and scream at him which makes
him run away while she chases him biting his bum!  Zena and Topaz do get
along well with the other animals though!
 
We are open to any suggestions on how to make the two girls feel more
like this is their home, and how to get Zena, Topaz and Zama to be
friends.  Also, any suggestions on how to fatten them up would be great
as well!
 
Thanks a bunch,
Mahlyssa
[Posted in FML issue 3944]