From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2007-12-26 17:42:22 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Strange question about poof
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
None of us can know a home situation elsewhere long distance: how able to separate the
ferrets another is, how extreme the poofing or spaying is, what health problems the
others (of any number of feet) in the household have (such as advanced heart disease,
lung troubles, being bilateral adrenal on meds so the risk of Addisons can increase with
certain physical stresses, etc.)
Because this can be stressful topic I just wanted to ease things a little bit by telling about
the only time we encountered a full-out spraying by a ferret, and how a ferret can think
differently than a human.
My hubby is someone who grew up with cross-country skiing so I had gotten him
wheeled training skis for the warmer months, but at the time we lived in an apartment
that was even smaller than our condo -- an apartment with hardwood flooring.
He was rushing from the bedroom to the living room when one of his feet hit the
displaced wheeled ski that Tandi had decided for the first time would make a great toy
and he took off, balancing on one foot, rolling across the floor -- straight at Tandi. Well,
Tandi did the only logical thing that particular ferret (being very much a ferret
behaviorally) could do under such circumstances (ahem). She stayed in his path but
turned tail, lifted same, and let Steve have it full force. Luckily for her and for Steve he
had realized at the same time that the only way to not crash into her was to make himself
crash so he toppled the ski.
Some great possibly solutions have been discussed about this medical or behavioral
problem, and I know that all here are using the best and most careful approaches. It's
just that we can't always know the details of what happens in another home and what
options are viable elsewhere, just as if I'd said "We once had a scary spraying incident"
people would not automatically think, "Oh, yeah, a ski!"
So, hopefully, this made you smile, and I know that I have learned a LOT during this
discussion!
I have one more story that tells a bit about ferrets. We had an adult ferret family
member, Haleakala (who came to us as a retired breeder after a mounting male pierced
one of her eyes with a canine) who got infected anal glands. That was close to a quarter
century ago so surgery then was risky, meaning that we were trying meds first.
Meanwhile, we learned a trick. Hale hated injections even though she liked that vet and
with the infection she was getting injections as well as oral meds. We found that when
she could not get out the "overload" (if you will) of anal sac contents we could get into the
car and head toward the vet, and she would get exited enough that she usually would be
able to release it on me as she and I sat in the passenger seat.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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