Getting Older

 

 

So Saturday was my fifth birthday. Which means I am now on the threshold of becoming a senior pet. With that hooman has more concerns about my health.

I am already considered to have Adrenal Disease since I have an enlarged spleen but am not showing any other signs such as hair loss like Marcuz is.

Hooman has started doing weekly testing of my blood sugar to make sure I am not showing any signs of Insulinoma.

I am also starting to show some signs of tooth decay even though hooman does brush my teefs. It will be one of the many things we will discuss with my awesome vet Doctor Doverspike in March of April depending on when we can get an appointment with him. Hooman doesn’t want to take any chances with our healthcare  and I really don’t like the lady vet that did my ultra sound.

I will also have to start seeing Doctor Doverspike twice a year if not more depending on my age but then I won’t be going alone since Marcuz will be turning five in September.

Here are just a couple of pics of me getting my bifday treats. Yum! 

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Manny

Ferret Giving Tree 2013

What is the Ferret Giving Tree? It is a place where shelters can put up homeless ferrets many of which have medical issues and will more than likely stay with the shelter until they pass over the Rainbow bridge. Some of the stories are heartbreaking and others just make you want to go strangle the person responsible for their pain.

Most shelters run on the kind donations of others and are often in need of items they just can’t afford due to the medical cost of these furry little critters. That is where the Ferret Giving Tree comes in.

Started in 1998 by Kristine in hopes of giving the ferrets special gifts that they might of never seen otherwise. The first year saw over three hundred ferrets listed on the tree and the numbers keep growing each year which is sad as that means more and more ferrets are ending up in shelters for many different reasons but the two main reasons are inexperienced owners and medical/age issues.

The Ferret Giving Tree is opened each October to the shelters to place bios of several ferrets on the tree and each tree holds the names and pictures of fifteen ferrets. The tree(s) are then opened to the public on November 1^st so each ferret can get his or her very own Santa. Some stay as secret Santa and others relish in giving something to these little guys.

I have participated in the Ferret Giving Tree the last two years with only being able to be Santa to one ferret this year I will be able to choose several ferrets so now my dilemma is choosing which ferrets and or shelter I wish to donate too.

I picked seven little fuzzies from Richmond Ferret Rescue League this way I only need to ship one box and I can include a nice surprise for the Shelter Mom.

The seven little darlings I have picked are

Silly Willie

Cooter Cutie

MoJo

George

Roxy

Bacardi, and

Miss Prissy

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

The Flu Isn’t Just For Humans

It’s here that wonderful fall season which also brings with it the not so wonderful influenza virus better known as the flu. The flu is no fun for us humans but what many don’t realize is that we can give the flu to others species.

Ferrets are susceptible to all strains of the flu virus, which also includes the swine flu. Unfortunately, there is no flu shot for ferrets. The flu can be transmitted from human to ferret or from ferret to human.

When I have a cold, I take extra precautions to prevent giving it to my ferrets. This includes using hand sanitizer before and after touching any of my fur kids, along with wearing a mask to limit the amount of germs I breathe onto them.

I also monitor them for any flu like symptoms such as:

• Any discharge from the nose or eyes.
• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Loss of appetite
• Weakness and lethargy
• Fever Normal temperature range is 101-103 degrees
• Puffy eyes

Sound familiar? Yep they are the same symptoms we get when we get a cold/flu. For many ferrets, having the flu isn’t a big deal but for those with depressed immune systems due to disease or being a senior having the flu can lead to complications such as pneumonia can prove to be fatal.

Any ferret that has stopped eating/drinking for more than a day or two and/or has a weakened immune system needs to be seen by their vet to evaluate and treat the ferret accordingly.

Like humans, most ferrets will recover from their cold/flu in five to fourteen days.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Marcuz Gotcha Day Pawty

While I am not really sure when Marcuz came to live with James, Manny, and me I do remember that it was in November and before James crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. November is also very full of parties and it has been hard trying to decide when to have Marcuz’ twitter pawty.

So we are going to celebrate Marcuz’ gotcha day November 18^th at 8pm-10pm eastern standard time.

Marcuz will be one year old. The theme is holidayz please come dressed in your finest or as part of the holidayz. Also this will be potluck style please bring your favorite dish to share with everyone.

We will be supporting the seniors at Hearts of Ohio Ferret Rescue and Association.

#ferretolidayz will be the hashtag for Marcuz’s twitter pawty.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Ferret Giving Tree

Last year Enlightened Ferret was Santa to Gibbs from Stinky Pete’s Resort this year we have chosen Murray from the Fox Valley Ferret Shelter. (click on the picture to read about Murray)

Fox Valley Ferret Shelter helps mainly older and special needs ferrets.

If you would like to help be part of the gift giving for Murray or any other ferret that is on the trees at the Ferret Giving Tree and are unsure of what to give these little guys you can leave a comment or send an email to enlightenedferret@hotmail.com or tweet me @informedferret for some ideas.

Like all shelters both human and animal these are experiencing financial difficulties. For many of these shelters the most needed items besides money are as follows

Paper towels

Food: each shelter has a list of what they use but some are Marshalls, totally ferret, Evo for Ferrets.

cleaning supplies

blankets

ferretone

baby wipes

Gerber baby food (Chicken, Turkey) for duck soup

Q-tips®

nail clippers (cat)

and of course toys

 

Have a Chittering good day,

Jo