by debferret

Ferret Fur Everywhere!

Our ferrets blow their coats twice a year. Around the end of February into March, ferrets will start shedding that beautiful thick luxurious winter coat. Your ferret may “blow” his coat in one or two days coating everything in sight with fur or he may decide to spread the shedding over several weeks with tufts of fur left behind in his hammock.

Cheech getting a good brushing from Fred

Ferrets become very itchy when they are shedding. Using a soft brush on your ferret helps to loosen the fur and give them a good scratch at the same time. You don’t want your ferret inhaling all this loose fur! Worse, you don’t want your ferret to groom himself and ingest all this loose fur. If he licks and ingests too much of his own fur, he can give himself a life threatening blockage requiring major surgery and a huge vet bill.

I have tried many types of brushes over the years and thanks to my friend Colleen, I have fallen in love with this round cat brush. This brush fits nicely in the palm of my hand. Made of soft rubber, it contours the ferrets body nicely. It’s easy to remove the accumulated fur and of course very easy to wash with soap and water. **Don’t leave this soft rubber brush lying around after brushing. Your ferret may decide to chew on it because it’s soft rubber and give himself a blockage!**

soft rubber brush for short haired cats

I have discovered that this rubber brush is also great for getting that thick mat of fur off the split hammocks. I have already worn out a washer and dryer due to an accumulation of ferret fur that doesn’t seem to get caught by the filter and gets into the guts of the machines. I had a split hammock that was “loaded” and I certainly didn’t want to spend an hour picking the fur off of it. One or two swipes with the brush and the hammock was relatively clean of the fur. Wow!

split hammock with “some” fur

excess fur removed prior to washing

condensed mat of Cheech’s fur in the hammock

mat of fur removed from inside split hammock

After using the brush to get as much fur off the hammock; I will wet my hand and pass it over the bedding and get the fine fur that the brush didn’t pick up.

Tiko, a gorgeous sale male came to the shelter in the late fall. He adjusted to shelter life while he awaited his forever home. I was getting to know him. On litter box changing day I inspected his litter box as I do for each and every ferret. It is the best and quickest way to determine if your ferret is sick. When I looked into the litter box I immediately saw a strange poop! Red flag went off. I removed this poop so that I could examine it in minute detail. It was not your normal fecal matter. It was a poop containing nothing but FUR!! Tiko was a ferret that groomed himself lots and seeing as it was shedding season, he had ingested all his loose fur. I was very lucky that he was able to pass this blob of fur. He could have died as I would not have suspected a blockage and may not have gotten him to the vet in time! Tiko could have easily been looking at major surgery to remove a blockage caused by his own fur. Tiko is a ferret that you cannot forget to give hairball remedy on a weekly basis. The hairball remedy ensures that his fur is “greased” and can pass easily through his system!

poop made up of ferret fur

poop dissected revealing it’s all fur

02.16.17

by debferret

Jill – Part 2 – Lies challenged

I’ve blogged about Jill. Jill and her bonded partner Jack were adopted by a young lady. Within a week there were complaints of the ferrets being itchy and possibly having fleas etc etc. As explained in my previous blog; eventually she called me to tell me that Jill was dying and she needed to surrender her because she couldn’t afford vet bills. She refused to return Jack at the same time. Jill was not dying; she was blowing her coat and only had her soft undercoat. She was a nice solid weight. It took some time, but eventually Jill was sent to live at our satellite shelter with Bridget and her new ferret friend China Girl. Jill had found love again.

Well, there was so much more “dirt” I could have shared but, I took the high road. Turns out, that the young “lady” has been busy telling “alternate facts” regarding the adoption. How do I know this? Turns out she began bad mouthing me to a current member of our association telling our member all about this terrible adoption. I was so happy to here that this member defending me and put this young “lady” Kayla in her place. Our member did not know anything about Jill and Jack, she just knew me and how I conduct the shelter business and it wasn’t adding up! This member uses the services where this young lady Kayla works. I would sure love to be a little bird watching what happens if she runs into the Kayla now that she has all the facts.

So, let me now share the facts with the corresponding documentation. We are a non profit charitable organization and so everything is and has to be documented. It made it so easy for me to challenge her lies! I have blacked out her last name and address and phone number – if I was a mean person I could let the whole world know what a liar she is. It’s not slander when you have the documents substantiating everything.

Adoption processed May 2, 2017. Receipt issued. Jack and Jill a bonded pair discounted to the adoption fee of a single ferret – $80.00 plus membership of $35.00 for a total of $115.00. Received $120.00, and gave her the $5.00 difference. Now most folks have donated that $5.00 to the shelter, but she wanted her change.

Jack & Jill’s Adoption Receipt

Jill adoption page 1

Jill Adoption page 2

A week later I received a call from her complaining Jack and Jill were scratching a lot. I made suggestions about changing the laundry soap, using vinegar in the rinse and their cigarette smoking outside away from them. I made my first offer to gave her the adoption fees back and take the ferrets back. Offer declined.

The complaints continued so on May 11th, they met me at our vet clinic. At our cost, I had the ferrets rechecked by the vet. Our vet gave them both a clean bill of health except for ear mites. I paid for Revolution. The vet bill came to $125.55 (with my discount). Do the math. I am now $5.55 in the hole on this adoption. Not the point because our shelter isn’t about profit but about placing ferrets in good homes. If we break even, we are happy.

Jack & Jill re exam May 11th

Kayla and her mom were not happy with the vet’s assessment. In front of the vet, I offered to take the ferrets back with me right then and there and refund them their money. Kayla declined, stating she loved them but she was sure Jill was a sick old lady and no way was she 3 year old. I suggested that they take the ferrets to a vet of their choice for a second opinion. Kayla and her mom again refused stating they didn’t have the money to waste on that! They knew what they knew, I had sold them an old and sick ferret. Jack of course was ok.

I let a week or so go by and then I sent off an email asking how things were going and telling them I looked forward to seeing them at the Spring frolic in June. I watched for them at the frolic but they did not attend.

The next time I heard from Kayla,it was July 7th around mid morning. Kayla was calling me from her doctor’s office . She was crying and told me that Jill was very sick. She had stopped eating. She couldn’t afford vet bills, so she wanted to surrender Jill but she didn’t want to give up Jack. I told her that as a bonded pair, if Jill was coming back Jack would have to come back too. The conversation became heated and at one point she had her mother call me and that conversation was not pleasant. My integrity, my vet’s integrity were both called into question. Kayla did not have gas money to bring them back, whining about me living all the way across the city from her! Funny how the drive to adopt them wasn’t too far!

I contacted our President to advise him of the situation and to request that he accompany me when I collected the ferrets (at this point I was still hoping for both). At this point I was expecting to pick them up around 5ish. I put the vet clinic on standby that I may be bringing in a sick and dying ferret. I didn’t want Jill to suffer and if she needed to be euthanized, I wanted to make sure they would have an appointment time for me.

Kayla kept pushing back the time I could pick them up. I have kept the texts from that day on my cell phone.Kayla had gone out for the evening and was now stating that she wasn’t dying, just had stopped eating. Fred and I ended up collecting Jill just after 10 pm that night, July 7th (notice it’s 2 months). She showed me that Jack was healthy (that was the final negotiation I could work out). Fred and I drove two blocks and then took pictures documenting Jill’s condition. She was a perfectly healthy weight, bright eyed with her soft undercoat and no guard hairs.

Jill Surrender form, page 1

Jill surrender page 2

As soon as the vet clinics opened, I contacted a different vet clinic and took Jill in as an emergency. I asked them to do a full work up health assessment and to provide documentation. This was another expense that was totally unnecessary! As Fred and I expected, the vet pronounced her a perfectly healthy middle aged (approx. age of 3 years) ferret.

So, Kayla! If you must tell people what a horrible person I am. You are welcome to tell everyone how you dislike me the person, but DO NOT MALIGN the shelter. At least state the facts!

I did not adopt out an old sick ferret.

You did not return her within 2 weeks.

I did not refuse to return the adoption fee; offering several times to return the full fee for both ferrets.

I did not end up giving you back half the adoption fee.

I am happy to hear that Jack’s health did not decline over the loss of his beloved Jill. I do believe that you love Jack and that was why I chose to keep our interaction quiet and move on. It’s too bad you couldn’t do the same.

02.06.17

by debferret

When is using a water dish not a good idea?

At the shelter every cage has both a clip on water dish and a water bottle. This is something I have done for a long time. Family and close friends will tell you I can worry about that 1% that may never happen. That’s mostly true, but, once in a awhile I am proven right.

When my dear friend Helen was killed instantly at 10:30 at night in a car accident; her cousin contacted my mid morning the next day when they went to Helen’s house and saw the large poster in her ferret room that I had made for her and insisted she hang up. I went so far as to “bully” her standing there with push pins and tape. I wasn’t leaving until she hung it up. Then we could have our tea. Because of this poster, her cousin knew who to call to take care of Helen’s ferrets! Helen was not close to her family as they did not like any of her pets so know one would have known whom to call if not for that poster.

When Jeanne and I arrived to collect the ferrets that morning; several of the cages had no water. Like most of us, I am sure Helen told herself that 1/3 of a bottle would do till she got home after work and then she would top up all the bottles (she had 13 ferrets housed in 5 cages). She was probably running late to get to work. We will never know the circumstances for the empty bottles but the fact was she was literally 5 minutes from home when she was killed. From 10:30 pm till 10:30 the next morning is a long time before I arrived at her house.

None of the ferrets were in distress because of course it was only 12 hours or so hours. But, it reaffirmed my being anal about having both the water dish and the water bottle in each cage. We expect to return home. We expect to fill dishes or top water bottles but we just have to run one quick errand. Even in larger families, during an emergency/tragedy everyone is focused elsewhere and the animals can be overlooked.

Having said all of the above, sometimes, a ferret will defy your perfect logic. Meet Buddy. Buddy is an un-socialized ferret living in the playpen in my living room giving me access to him till bedtime. He is coming along. He no longer hides under the blanket. He used to only come out under the cover of darkness to eat and drink. Now he will eat and drink even as I walk by, he will play with the stuffies. He will run through the tube in his cage. He will even sleep/rest on top of his blankie and watch me as I walk back and forth from the kitchen into my living room.

I have a water bottle hanging from the playpen. I also have a small dish clipped at the bottom. I keep topping up the dish. I have seen him drinking from the bottle. I have seen him at the water dish. He must be a very thirsty ferret! The water dish seems to be empty every time I go by. This morning I was working on my laptop minutes after giving Buddy fresh water in his dish.

I hear the sounds of splish splash and look up in time to see Buddy happily paddling in his water dish. The floor mat is soaked and so is the Christmas sleep sack. Heh, stop that Buddy. He slunk off and crawled under his towel in the nest box. Hmmm, not a thirsty ferret at all. Just a water baby! When he is a little easier to handle he is going to have fun playing in the bathtub!

So for Buddy, it now means I will hang two water bottles for that “just in case something happens and I can’t get home in time”. I’m leaving the water dish and yes I will top it up! Can’t deprive Buddy of the joy of splish splashing in his water dish!

02.03.17

by debferret

Jill’s heartache turns into a second chance at love

This is a story of a bonded pair, the heartache and the second chance at love. Jack and Jill were surrendered to the shelter. It was obvious they adored each other. We do not split bonded pairs and we make that quite clear during adoptions.

In time, an adoption was processed for Jack and Jill. Within the first month there were rumblings of discontent. They scratched too much. They didn’t play together. They were sick. The ferrets were re-checked by our vet and he pronounced them a healthy pair of furries. The vet’s expertise was questioned. Things deteriorated from there. I got a call that Jill was dying; there was something wrong with her. The new owner was only willing to return Jill, insisting on keeping Jack.

Jill was picked up and she did not look sick or “dying”. She had blown all her guard hairs; but she had a good weight to her. We took Jill to a different vet clinic in the morning and got her accessed . Once again she was given a clean bill of health.

My job now was to make sure she didn’t die of a broken heart after loosing Jack. I worried about Jack but I had no control over that. Jill refused to make friends with any of the other furries in the shelter. She lost weight, she pined for Jack. Slowly she put the weight back on but her spirit seemed broken.

Bridget, my satellite shelter mom inquired about bringing her there to help her old timer China Girl who had recently lost her cage mate. It was worth a try. It took about a month for the girls to get along. They share a cage but don’t sleep in the same hammock. When they are out playing, they follow each other around and play. They have bonded. Bridget tells me they don’t let each other out of sight. I am so happy Jill has found furry love again.

Jill whom Bridget renamed Jube Jube adores Bridget. Jube Jube has fallen hard for Bridget; she has found a human to love and trust again. When she climbs up on the couch for her snuggle time with Mommy; whoa is you if you try to touch Bridget. Jube Jube is not sharing her cuddle time with China Girl or Bridget’s spouse Danny.

02.01.17

by debferret

Lulu and her new Hanging Sleep Sack

Lulu is a tiny sable female that was surrendered to the main shelter in 2016. I think her young owner did not understand how important it is to handle baby ferrets and to teach them not to bite. So at eighteen months when Lulu arrived; she bit hard enough to still draw blood and she was afraid of hands.

After a few months Lulu had learnt not to bite Mommy. Unfortunately, she bonded to Mommy and did not trust other hands. We are still working on this issue by having a couple of volunteers coming in and handling the ferrets including Lulu to get them used to/trust all hands.

Lulu was moved into the the youngsters cage. This cage has Corky, Pepsi, Cola, and Mouse. Corky, Cola and Mouse have no issue with Lulu and play or snuggle with her. Miss Pepsi is another matter. She intermittently takes a round out of poor Lulu! There is much screaming and such when this happens. I don’t want to put her by herself because she has fun with the other three. I correct Pepsi every time I hear her picking on Lulu. However, there are enough times (I am out of the house or asleep) that Pepsi gets away with it, and so she continues. Pepsi and Cola came in together and I will not take her away from her sister. Corky and Mouse love them all. What a dilemma.

I found a small hanging sleep sack (surrendered with another ferret years ago) and decided to put it in their cage for Lulu. If she climbed inside maybe she would feel safer from Pepsi and could defend her “space”. Eureka! Lulu made a beeline for this sleep sack and claimed it. I only hear some squawking now when Pepsi tries to climb into Lulu’s sack.

I only had this one hanging sleep sack and this made things difficult for Lulu when it was in the wash. Adrienne, the shelter’s ferret Oma got busy and made Lulu several hanging sleep sacks just for her. Now I can have two hanging on the bars of the cage and two in the wash.

It was cage cleaning today, so I got busy and hung up the new sleep sack. Lulu and crew were running around but somehow Lulu seemed to know what I was up to. Or maybe seeing the dirty one on the floor she was worrying about what she would sleep in? All I know is that she climbed into the cage over my shoulder to check things out. I had my cell phone in my pocket (not a normal thing for me which is why I miss so many good shots). I took a few quick pictures; no time for posing!

Lulu climbed into the new hanging sleep sack. Sniffed around I assume and then peeked out at me. I think she was tickled pink to have this slightly larger, softer hanging sleep sack. I took Lulu out so that she could finish her play time. When they all went back to bed Lulu jumped into her sleep sack and no one went near her sack. She must have had a few words with her sisters about who “owned” the new sleep sack Mommy hung in the cage. All is peaceful FOR NOW. Pepsi can be stubborn and she is an alpha girl………………….. so I hung two so they both could “claim” a hanging sleep sack.