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!

04.01.15

by debferret

How to NOT step on your sleeping ferret

The MFA has a handout “Ferret Proofing” your home. I wish we could also ferret proof our ferrets! Years ago after a “near Squish” scatter rugs were banned from my house and added to the list under Ferret Proofing.

Carpet runners have crept back into my house now that I have vinyl flooring through out. When the ferrets are out playing I will never step on a bunched up carpet runner. I know that a silly ferret may be hiding under there.

I hang up wet towels after my bath and my clothes go into the hamper immediately. I do not give the ferrets the chance to curl up under these things. One moment of inattention and hurry could lead me to stepping on a sleeping ferret. I have a dozen safe sleeping nest boxes all over the house but we know that the ferret will choose the most dangerous place to sleep if they can. If only I could ferret proof the ferret!

One trick I have learnt over the years is to put a ferret blankie down were a ferret insist on pooping and I don’t want him to; such as behind the bedroom door or even in front of the bedroom door when the Plexiglas partition is in place.

I left Rosie and Finnigan out in the ferret room to play as an overnight treat. These two old ladies do tend to go potty where ever they want, not even in corners! I put a blankie across the front of the shelter room door hoping to discourage a mess at the door.

This morning it was time to put the old girls back in their cage and let another cage out to play. I lifted the Plexiglas divider and looked down at the flat blankie. I gently patted the blankie and sure enough even though it looked flat there was a small warm ripple (couldn’t even really call it a bump because it was so small).

“Flat” blankie in doorway

A tiny little face poked out of the folds!

Finnegan poking her head out from the blankie on the floor

Finnegan is half a pound soaking wet, maybe! She is so tiny. My miniature Eskimo Miki had wanted to dash past me into the ferret room to “clean” any crumbs up. Miki weighs 30 pounds; she would have caused a fatal squish had I let her bolt past me into the ferret room. The reason Miki is so overweight is because of all the ferret food she steals. She is very good at it!

Miki cleaning up ferret “crumbs”

I peeled back the blankie and my sweet Finni was not much interested in leaving her current sleeping spot. Finnegan is the same little girl that hid in my grandson’s boot and had me on a worried hunt for over 30 minutes!

Finni and Rosie were put back to bed in their cage. A kiss on the nose, now safe and snug as a bug in the rug! LOL

Finnegan uncovered and not wanting to move from her blankie in the doorway!

If you have anything on the floor and you know your ferrets are out; enforce the rule “Never step on anything a ferret can sleep under or in!

02.09.15

by debferret

New Hiding Spot

I had my three old ladies out playing on Sunday morning. I was changing some litter boxes in the shelter room and these scrawny ferts can fill a litter box quicker than any other cage so I was doing their cage! Mariko, Finni and Rosie will tootle about for about 45 minutes before finding a nest box to crash in. It had been an hour and I knew it was time for them to go back to bed.

Rosie – you can’t see me!

Finni- I smell something!

Mariko-This is my best smile!

My nine year old grandson, Holden arrived early for his bi-weekly Sunday visit with me. I normally have all the ferrets back to bed before he arrives. This is not a safety issue from me but from the “powers that be”. Of all the ferrets in the house, these three, if given the chance might “gum” you to death! I follow the rules and the ferrets are locked up.

I needed to put the girls to bed because it was time for their duck soup and because my grandson is not used to watching where he walks (has not learnt the ferret shuffle). Of course also for the above stated reason.

Rosie and Mariko were curled up in the nest box behind the TV and I put them back in their cage. I couldn’t find Finni! I knew that she hadn’t gotten out when Holden came in the front door, but, where the heck had she gotten to? Holden was told to play in his bedroom with the door closed while I looked. I checked all the usual sleepy spots without any luck. Then, I went by the front door to check the bed in the closet. Holden’s boots lay where he had taken them off – in the way – right in front of the front door! I bent down to move the boots to the boot rack and I little face peeked out. I ran for the camera but by the time I came back, she was almost out of the boot.

I called Holden to come see. We both laughed and I grabbed the opportunity as a “teaching moment” . Now Holden understands even more why the furries have to be back in their cages because they can choose the silliest places to sleep and might get hurt!