Just thought I'd comment.. A lot of people say they keep ferrets alive that
are sick because they still eat, run, cuddle, etc.
 
A lot of animals in the wild will show no signs of sickness until they
are so far gone they pretty much can't stand up..  Any animal showing
signs of sickness will be the first to be targetted out by predators.
These instincts still remain in some pets; definatly birds, I'm not sure
what else.  I'm not that knowledgable on the whole ferret domestication
history, but I'd guess it's possible that they too retain these insticts..
when they hurt themselves, mine certainly hide it a lot more than other
pets I've had/seen, and when one of mine once got sick, he *always* hid
somewhere noone could see him when he vomited.  (of course, I could hear
him quite clearly, and he turned out just to have a little tummy bug).
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not recommending anyone puts there ferrets down..
But I do think one should think twice before deciding to let an animal they
know is in pain keep living just because they're still running around, and
certainly recommending to other people that they don't put thier ferrets
down until they're pretty much not moving. An animal pretending not to be
in pain in some remembed whisp of instinct to not get eaten, isn't really
the same as living the last qualities of life.
 
- Reet
[Posted in FML issue 2806]