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.

01.26.17

by debferret

Garret Looses the “Urge”

I have been running the Main shelter for 18 years and Garret’s medical problem was a first for the MFA! Garret’s mom and dad were at their wits end when they called me. Their handsome boy who was a year and a half had become very aggressive with their female ferret Luna and also their cat. Garret was “mounting” them incessantly. Garret had also become really really stinky! They were trying to juggle 2 separate ferret play times, hide the cat and look after a new baby. They felt that Garret was not happy and needed a different playmate. Luna and the cat were so stressed out.

Now I love, love, love the way ferrets smell, but Garret was way over the top! He smelled just like a whole male ferret! Actually, it’s a little strong, but, I didn’t mind it! Sidebar, if you don’t change your clothes after handling said ferret, people at the store give you peculiar looks when you walk by them!

Now years ago we had a young dark eyed white male ferret, approximately 2 and 1/2 years old that was surrendered because he was stinky. A trip to the vet and follow up surgery revealed a huge tumor on his left adrenal gland.

Off to the vet’s we went with Garret. My guess was adrenal tumor or maybe incomplete neuter. I have had female ferrets in with incomplete spay but never an incomplete neuter. Dr. Singh was 95% sure that Garret had a undescended testicle. Dr. Singh had time that very day to do the surgery. So, before I had time to worry about Garret and the anesthetic be was whisked away.

Garret sporting stitches aftr having a testicle removed. Notice how long he is!

Garret sporting stitches after having a testicle removed. Notice how long he is!

Garret was awake and ready to party when I picked him up 4 hours later. I was told to keep him quiet for a few days-right! Garret did 36 hours in the hospital cage and then made it clear he was going crazy being confined.

I want to thank Garret for his donation to our Show and Tell Kit for the Second year students at Red River College. I have a Cordoma tumor, a spleen and now a testicle!

Garret’s testicle

Garret back to his old self

04.21.15

by debferret

Human Proofing!

Tuesdays are litter box cleaning days here at the shelter. Our garbage is picked up on Wednesday mornings and I like to get the stinky dirty litter gone from my side driveway!

I’m having a slow start this morning. Opened the bedroom drapes to more #$%^$# snow on the ground! I am so sick of snow! But no, I did not crawl back under the covers.

Got through my breakfast and duck soupies for the old ladies. Made the bed and had my back decide to be a bully today. it sent me a message “You move-I spasm!” More bad words.

I have 18 litter boxes to empty, wash, dry and re-fill. Doing good considering my sore back. Going up and down the stairs was getting a bit much. I am going to cheat and carry up 3 clean litter boxes at one time! Now a year ago I could carry 4 litter boxes up no problem. But since I put my back out, I can do 3 at a time. This morning I was down to 2 litter boxes at a time, but, this was taking too long! Yeah right!

Coming up the stairs with my 3 clean litter boxes and wham! How the hell do you miss a step going UP!! I did try really hard not to drop the litter boxes! I saved two but the bottom litter box …… well, see for yourself!

This is what happens when you fall UP the stairs with 3 litter boxes in your hands!

the 2 litter boxes at the top of the stairs and the lip of the spilled box 2 steps down!

So much for saving time! The good thing (I always try to find a positive) is that this was a clean litter box and all I had to do was put the litter box under each step and with my hands sweep the clean litter back into the litter box. Did you know Wood pellets scatter real well?!

I am not picking the dog hairs from the steps out of the litter box. I have a miniature Eskimo and Miki is shedding like crazy right now! Whichever cage gets this litter box, well I’ll tell them there’s a little extra to make their pooping experience softer and more enjoyable!

I’m taking a long coffee break before I continue on!

04.20.15

by debferret

Luna’s Great Adventure!

Luna and Garret are recent arrivals to the shelter. You may recognize Garret’s name. He is the young fellow who was surrendered because of aggression. Turns out he was an incomplete neuter. Once the testicle was removed Garret’s aggression disappeared and he was returned to his family. Unfortunately, the family decided to re-surrender both Garret and his cage mate Luna as they no longer had time for them with the new baby.

Luna and Garret are very high energy. With mostly older ferrets in the shelter, it is quite a change to have such energize bunnies running around. Love it most days!!!

Luna and Garret were out for playtime. About an hour into their play time, I heard the loud tinkle of a wind chime. I love wind chimes and I have several hung up along the walls of the shelter room. When the window is open, the breeze creates a lovely melody.

My prized wind chime was a gift from my husband. It is a large outdoor wind chime from Schrimer’s. Cost him a small fortune many years ago and it is so beautiful I don’t want it ruined by actually putting it outdoors. So, it hangs right in front of the shelter window and I smile each time I see it.

So, back to Luna and her adventure! I hear the tinkle of my wind chime. Each wind chime has their own unique sound. I recognized the tinkle as my prized outdoor wind chime. Hmmm, the window is closed and so I should NOT be hearing the tinkle.

I dash in to the shelter room and there is Luna. She is swinging on the wind chime. She has climbed up the Ferret Nation cage and from there onto the wind chime. She looked back at me when I hollered her name! The look was a typical teenager “whatever”.

As I approached her to take her down, she realized that maybe she was in trouble and should make her get-a-way! From the wind chime through the blind and hung up on the screen! I ALWAYS keep my window closed when ferrets are out playing. I never want to experience the tragedy of a ferret falling to its death because the screen gave way. Thank god I had that rule in place.

So many funny things happen in the shelter and I almost never get to document it on my cell or camera. This time I just happen to have my camera on the coffee table and grabbed it as I ran to the shelter. I was able to get some good pictures before I put the camera down and rescued Luna. Her thanks was a ticked off weasel war dance and an attempt to scale the Ferret Nation cage for another go at the wind chime!

Luna and Garret are up for adoption to an experienced ferret owner. These two are a real handful! Wonderful, but definitely a handful!

Enjoy the pictures of her Great Adventure. PS – she has claimed the wind chime as her personal diva spot and I am constantly taking her down now! Should I remove the wind chime – NO, some times you have to say “It’s my house damn it and I get to have something for me”.

Luna swinging on my outdoor wind chime in front of the window in the shelter room

Luna in her best Diva pose on the wind chime

Luna thinking of getting down-nope!

Luna back to sitting pretty and giving me the LOOK. She looks like a statue!

Luna deciding that Mommy is mad and maybe she should make a get-a-way

Luna realizing that she is stuck

Help Mommy= I stuck

04.03.15

by debferret

New Toy – Not!

I am the first to admit that I spoil my ferrets. I am constantly fussing over the cage set up to make sure it is safe. I have Adrienne’s beautiful soft split hammocks and lots of towels or blankies to snuggle in.

I am a fixture at the Dollarama, on the look out for new toys for the fuzzies to enjoy. Gosh, I even re-did the rec room floor; tearing out the old stinky carpet and putting in vinyl plank flooring.

I have toy boxes upstairs and downstairs filled with stuffies and jingle balls. What more could a ferret ask for?

I had Zippa and Zorrow out playing in my bedroom. Yes, it is a designated play area during the day. I have tubes under the bed and dog beds for them to curl up in. The ensuite bathroom is not a play area and I keep that door closed.

I went to put these two furries to bed and discovered bits of toilet paper at the end of my bed? What the heck? I see the bathroom door ajar. Crap (pun intended) I must not of closed the door properly and they pushed it open.

Just then Zorrow came bouncing out of the bathroom with the unwrapped roll of paper towel firmly clenched in his teeth. He scooted under the bed before I could blink.

My only word was – oh, oh………………..

ferret toy – NOT!

You guessed it, they had pried open the cabinet sink doors. All my supplies were strewn about. Zippa was trying real hard to get a grip on the roll of toilet paper that she had “dug” out of the package. When she saw me she bolted for the bed. She knew this was NOT a designated ferret toy.

So, I now have a custom roll of toilet paper that I have to figure out how to still use!

Custom detailed roll of toilet paper a la ferret!

I have one other comment. I am very relieved that Zippa and Zorrow did not decide to stick their heads inside the toilet paper tube. Years ago a ferret actually suffocated after getting stuck in one. All my USED toilet paper tubes are automatically torn in half before being placed in the recycle bin. Thank goodness Zippa hadn’t tried to go through the toilet tube tunnel!

Off to Wal Mart. Time to buy those baby locks for cabinets! I swear, ferret proofing is never over!