My great aunt, who isn't so great, is bringing me one of her ferrets
tomarrow, to come live with me.  I am so mad at her I don't know what
to do.  You see, she doesn't know much if anything about ferrets.  Yet
two people in my family has given her 4 ferrets.  Now, I have given her
magazines, printed stuff about ferrets,told her how to get on the FML,
and other things so she could learn about ferrets and how to take care of
them.  But, she doesn't read any of it.  I have been doing this over a
year.  I have told her that what she feeds her ferrets isn't good enough
for them.  (very cheap cat food) She doesn't change it.  I tell her that
she needs to take them to the vet.  She says she can't afford it.  Yet
she tells me that she calls her vet.(who admits he knows nothing about
ferrets) and asks him what he thinks.  I even give her business cards to
good ferret vets.  She still calls the other vet for advice.
 
I have told her that she shouldn't keep chinchillas in the same room with
her ferrets, and what could happen if the ferrets were to get ahold of her
chinchilla.  So, it doesn't surprise me when a few months ago, I received
a call from my family members telling me that my great aunt was hysterical
because one of her ferrets killed her chinchilla.  I was pissed off to say
the least.  I told her that none of this would have happened if she would
have listened to what I told her and if she would have read everything I
gave her to read.  Her brother told her that she should get rid of the
ferret because now she was "blood thirsty" and would try to attack people
for their blood.  I told her that was not true.  Well, her brother felt
sorry for her and gave her two chinchillas for christmas.  I reminded her
that she needed to read up on ferrets, and keep the chinchillas in a
seperate room from the ferrets.  She said she knew what to do.  Two days
ago a received a call from her sister.  She told me that the same ferret
got out and killed one of S's chinchillas, and she was gonna let the
ferret go outside.  I told her to tell her she better not let her put
that ferret outside because I would take her.  I asked her how it had
happened.She didn't know how it happened.  But, told me that "S" had let
the ferrets out in one of the bedrooms and the chinchillas were out in
another.  The room the ferrets were in was blocked of by a small piece of
wood propped up against cactuses.  And nothing was blocking off the room
the chinchillas were in.  She told me that she would pick the ferret up
for me this weekend.  Now, I understand that people make mistakes.  But, I
believe that with all the information she was given, she would have known
that what she blocked the door off with wasn't good enough.  It is ashame
that two animals had to lose their lives because of her stupidity.  Has
this taught her a lesson?  No!  She has yet to try to learn anything about
ferrets.  And she is getting ANOTHER chinchilla.  The only good from this
is that that poor ferret is coming here where she will go to the vet when
it is needed and will get attention and everything else that makes a
ferret happy!
 
Now the question is: what can I do about the other ferrets she has?
 
Thanks for listening.
 
Misty & the wee-weez
[Posted in FML issue 3695]