She Loves Us Not?
Check out the response our mom had when one of her friends mentioned that he was thinking about getting ferrets and he wondered if there was anything that he should know about ferrets before getting one:
"Sure, I can tell you what to expect with ferrets!
They stink. They bite (as in they latch on to you, especially your feet and hands, often drawing blood and they are difficult to get off once they are in embedded in your flesh). They can be litter-trained, but will still prefer to go in the corners of your house. They are thieves and will steal and hide anything they can drag off (keys, cell phones, wallets, shoes, etc). They are destructive. You will need to ferret-proof your home (they can squeeze into and under tiny spaces, enabling them to find exits to the great outdoors, enabling them to get lost in your furniture, walls, heating units, etc). When they decide they want something, they will find a way to get it--as in, they are extremely STUBBORN.
You cannot punish them by smacking them or anything like that--they will become mean, aggressive, and will attack you on a regular basis (this is why I have so many ferrets, mine have been abused and are quite nasty when they come here--it becomes my job to try and undo the damage that people have done to them). Not to mention hitting or flicking them can do them extreme physical damage--one of mine bit my friend's hand--she flicked him in the head (natural reaction--she wasn't thinking about it) and she fractured his skull.
Make sure that there are vets in your area that work with ferrets because when they are sick, they go quickly. They are predisposed to numerous deadly illnesses that cost a fortune to treat--only to have them die anyhow. Mine have died as young as two years old despite weekly vet trips and small fortunes invested into saving them. Not to mention, you need to get ferrets their shots on a regular basis and some ferrets have bad reactions when they get their shots and die. They are social creatures, so when their cagemates die, they will often give up and quit eating, become depressed and will die shortly after.
They can be problematic if you have other pets or children (ferrets can and will kill small animals, including cats, dogs, most definitely rodents or birds that you have as pets and have been known to kill newborn babies). They are illegal in CA, HI, NYC, and many other places--so don't ever plan on moving back to CA while you have them (that's why I don't live there) and if you are caught with them, they are taken and destroyed. I could go on and on...
But if you decide you can handle all of that, are patient, have a good chunk of money set aside for vet bills, have time to dedicate to them (they are best off in a cage when you can't supervise them--but need AT LEAST two hours out a day to play--they will get depressed if caged too much + I've confiscated ferrets that were never let out of their cages and their muscles actually quit working--I have one that can't use his back legs because of being caged too much), and oh yeah, food isn't cheap either--it needs to be a high protein/fat content ferret food--but if you are sure that a ferret is what you want--go for it. They are a lot of work, but fun if you treat them right and take care of them like you are supposed to.
I would recommend getting ferrets from a shelter or someone that needs to get rid of theirs. Keep in mind too, any ferrets that come from a pet store are likely to have been neutered and descented at too young of an age and will have shorted life spans and increased health problems as a result. Most ferrets you find will be originally from one of the "ferret mills." A better pet will come from a professional breeder and cost big bucks. Good luck!"
We are wondering if she still loves us or if she has finally bought into the mentality that cats make better pets? We are worried that perhaps she has grown tired of us and may be thinking of sending us back to the places that she came and got us from. We are quite scared and depressed. Cinnamon is looking into teaching us all her trick of escaping…
~Weasels of Mustelid Manor~
"Sure, I can tell you what to expect with ferrets!
They stink. They bite (as in they latch on to you, especially your feet and hands, often drawing blood and they are difficult to get off once they are in embedded in your flesh). They can be litter-trained, but will still prefer to go in the corners of your house. They are thieves and will steal and hide anything they can drag off (keys, cell phones, wallets, shoes, etc). They are destructive. You will need to ferret-proof your home (they can squeeze into and under tiny spaces, enabling them to find exits to the great outdoors, enabling them to get lost in your furniture, walls, heating units, etc). When they decide they want something, they will find a way to get it--as in, they are extremely STUBBORN.
You cannot punish them by smacking them or anything like that--they will become mean, aggressive, and will attack you on a regular basis (this is why I have so many ferrets, mine have been abused and are quite nasty when they come here--it becomes my job to try and undo the damage that people have done to them). Not to mention hitting or flicking them can do them extreme physical damage--one of mine bit my friend's hand--she flicked him in the head (natural reaction--she wasn't thinking about it) and she fractured his skull.
Make sure that there are vets in your area that work with ferrets because when they are sick, they go quickly. They are predisposed to numerous deadly illnesses that cost a fortune to treat--only to have them die anyhow. Mine have died as young as two years old despite weekly vet trips and small fortunes invested into saving them. Not to mention, you need to get ferrets their shots on a regular basis and some ferrets have bad reactions when they get their shots and die. They are social creatures, so when their cagemates die, they will often give up and quit eating, become depressed and will die shortly after.
They can be problematic if you have other pets or children (ferrets can and will kill small animals, including cats, dogs, most definitely rodents or birds that you have as pets and have been known to kill newborn babies). They are illegal in CA, HI, NYC, and many other places--so don't ever plan on moving back to CA while you have them (that's why I don't live there) and if you are caught with them, they are taken and destroyed. I could go on and on...
But if you decide you can handle all of that, are patient, have a good chunk of money set aside for vet bills, have time to dedicate to them (they are best off in a cage when you can't supervise them--but need AT LEAST two hours out a day to play--they will get depressed if caged too much + I've confiscated ferrets that were never let out of their cages and their muscles actually quit working--I have one that can't use his back legs because of being caged too much), and oh yeah, food isn't cheap either--it needs to be a high protein/fat content ferret food--but if you are sure that a ferret is what you want--go for it. They are a lot of work, but fun if you treat them right and take care of them like you are supposed to.
I would recommend getting ferrets from a shelter or someone that needs to get rid of theirs. Keep in mind too, any ferrets that come from a pet store are likely to have been neutered and descented at too young of an age and will have shorted life spans and increased health problems as a result. Most ferrets you find will be originally from one of the "ferret mills." A better pet will come from a professional breeder and cost big bucks. Good luck!"
We are wondering if she still loves us or if she has finally bought into the mentality that cats make better pets? We are worried that perhaps she has grown tired of us and may be thinking of sending us back to the places that she came and got us from. We are quite scared and depressed. Cinnamon is looking into teaching us all her trick of escaping…
~Weasels of Mustelid Manor~
posted by Basho at 10:59 PM
1 Comments:
your momma LOVES you and wouldn't dream of ever giving you up!!!
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