A ferrety update

[arealhuman]

Sorry to read this, that's a great photo tribute. Best wishes to you.

 

[Flobo]

Thank you everyone for your kind words...

I thought I'd share Goose's journey without his brother. I've always known they've been together forever but the other day I really thought about that. They were kits together, probably arguing over the same nipple when feeding, even if they had a choice of others! They got adopted together by a family, where the child lost interest and the parents didn't want to take over their care, so they gave them up to a rescue centre. They were just under a year at this point, they got moved down to the rspca together, checked over, neutered and then they crossed paths with us. Which is where their story here began, our lovely, nutty, pair of fruitcakes!!
Goose's sadness is quite profound, when Iggy was ill earlier this year he was incredibly respectful and seemed to understand; when Iggy recovered it took Goose a little while to re-adjust to his brother leaping on him again and wanting to play. But then play they did!
So this time round, when Iggy was obviously not feeling great, Goose slipped back into recognizing this and calmed his behaviour down almost straight away. The 2 days and 2nights Iggy spent in the vets is the first time they had been apart like that, ever... he was understandably quiet. We had Iggy back for 24hours and it really was so lovely, we all needed that time, the boys and us...
When we said goodbye we brought him back from the vets, curled him up in a bed and lit a candle(I know this isn't for everyone), we sat with him and also gave Goose the time to see him, sniff him, as and when he chose to...
We buried him the next day...
Goose seems to have a knowing about him, he feels so small and lost when he goes back in the cage, which he's been choosing to do. He's been sleeping a lot, more than usual, and he's always been the light sleeper and nosey one. He's getting cuddles, extra special food in bed and the offer of play when he's out, but mostly we're giving him time. At night either me or daughter will sit quietly with our hand on him in his bed and he'll sigh and stay asleep. He's used to his brother laying all over him... it is heart breaking, but I think he will be ok.
This morning he actually went up the tube near me and I tipped it up so he slid down again(a game they both love/loved) and he did a little war dance then ran off. It was just a moment but for me that was a good sign and thankfully he is eating.(Ferrets have been known to literally stop eating with grief and pass away)

So, one moment at a time is our way, along with the love, quiet understanding and support for our Goose and hopefully he will get there...x

 

[Tinytom]

What a beautiful description of your boy ...its so emotional...
I am sure with your love and care Goose will get through this difficult time...xxxxxx

 

[JudyN]

My pooter screen has gone a little misty...

 

[Hemlock]

Thank you for sharing with us. You are helping Goose in the most thoughtful ways, and I hope thus helping you as well.

I always light a candle. As you say, isn't for everyone, but for those of us it helps, it helps.

 

[Flobo]

A little update on Goose...
He's kind of doing ok, much better than we all thought. He's eating pretty good, though odd days I'm still offering him extra by hand when I've noticed he hasn't touched any food voluntarily. Ferrets have a really high metabolic rate and should really eat every 4 hours or so, hence my monitoring. (Their blood sugar can drop when they don't eat regularly). He's more active and is at times back to his nosey, inquisitive self, he's engaging in play with me when he's out too, which is lovely. He is a funny bum and has always been really good at communicating how or where he wants to play. If I'm playing catch the toy on a stick on the floor with him, he'll suddenly stop, jump up on the sofa and disappear under the cover and wait... he likes to chase the stick when I drag it over the top of the cover!
There are just moments though when he runs off to play under the rug or in a tube, where as much as I try to play these games with him, I'm just not quite small enough to do it properly... he then gives up and will go and lay flat on the floor... sometimes I'll give him a moment then try a different interaction, sometimes I'll just give him a hug...

So, one day at a time... I know at the back of my mind I'm thinking, at some point, should we try and find him a friend to snuggle up to and play with? Myself, if Goose can be happy as an only ferret, I would be happy, mostly because I know that inevitably we will always find ourselves in this position... again and again...
But ferrets love company and his happiness is the most important thing, so we'll just play it by ear...

 

[arealhuman]

This still makes for sad reading, but I'm glad Goose is having periods of happiness and activity. We all know you'll do whatever's right for him.

 

[Tinytom]

It's a tough decision...you know your boy best and you will know if he needs a friend....we always have lots of ferrets looking for homes this way ....people take them on and dont realise what they need to thrive and be happy and not put in a rabbit hutch alone ....
You are such a good mum

 

[Flobo]

Thank you... and yes ferrets are incredible little creatures that do need a lot of time, care and understanding. Not an animal you can just leave to go on holiday with someone just coming to clean them out and feed them once a day, that's for sure!
If we do need to adopt again I also have to consider the fact that even though he's been neutered he also technically still is entire(or half entire, that's an oxymoron isn't it?!). So he smells more like an un neutered male but would not be fertile, having retained a testicle inside somewhere... Iggy was the same...and that he turned 5 this year, though he is a physically healthy boy, thank fully! We'll just see how he goes for now.

 

[Flobo]

I've recently rediscovered my love for 35mm photography, after giving my old point and shoot Olympus to my daughter and borrowing it back... She uses it a lot so I dusted off my Pentax, but that had a stuck shutter. I had a quick look on Ebay and found a Canon EOS up for £25, no bids and 2 minutes left. I scrolled down quick, read the blah, thought it was worth a punt and stuck a bid in. And here we are, I stuck a 24 exp film in and started snapping. Here's the 2 photos of Goose, the blurry one was where I was experimenting with a slow shutter speed, I think!
The other one breaks my heart, one of his sad momentsActually they both break my heart...
It's so nice having a camera again and enjoying the anticipation of having to wait and pick up your photos. They always send a link though before with the scanned copies and it's hell knowing they are there at the click of a button... but I resist and still wait!

 

[JudyN]

Aww, lovely photos

Hubby and I are into photography, but I can't imagine being limited to 24 exposures - we can go out for the day and come home with a few hundred each... which we then spend hours sorting through (and in my case editing). Mind you, I shoot almost entirely macro(ish) pics of insects and other bugs, handheld, and the 'hit rate' of half-decent photos is extremely low.

 

[Hemlock]

That camera was meant to be yours!

 

[RGC]

I've recently rediscovered my love for 35mm photography, after giving my old point and shoot Olympus to my daughter and borrowing it back... She uses it a lot so I dusted off my Pentax, but that had a stuck shutter. I had a quick look on Ebay and found a Canon EOS up for £25, no bids and 2 minutes left. I scrolled down quick, read the blah, thought it was worth a punt and stuck a bid in. And here we are, I stuck a 24 exp film in and started snapping. Here's the 2 photos of Goose, the blurry one was where I was experimenting with a slow shutter speed, I think!
The other one breaks my heart, one of his sad momentsActually they both break my heart...
It's so nice having a camera again and enjoying the anticipation of having to wait and pick up your photos. They always send a link though before with the scanned copies and it's hell knowing they are there at the click of a button... but I resist and still wait!

What a lovely face. He’s a smashing chap. He landed on his feet when you adopted the pair.

 

[Flobo]

A little update on Goose... He is eating better by himself, which is good but he is clearly quite sad being an only ferret with no one to bounce off(quite literally!). Last week I bought him an anti-anxiety doughnut bed, which he really loves. I haven't put it in his cage I've left it for when he's out, so now when he feels lost he goes and finds his bed instead of laying flat on the floor...but he is still sad. I've even been playing with him with a soft toy hand puppet, which he totally enjoyed interacting with for the first couple of times, now he just walks away and finds his bed

So a few days ago I verbalised the inevitable, 'That's it, we have to find him a friend!'

So, no ferrets at the rspca, but Gem ferret rescue gave me a number of someone who fosters for them... we've had a chat and upshot is she's popping over on Saturday with 2 different boys for Goose to meet! So now it's up to Goose, he may or may not like one of them, we shall have to wait and see...either way, I'm sure there will be a friend for him out there somewhere!

Looks like I'm destined to continue my journey being a ferret lady!! Good job I love the little stinkers eh!

Here's a couple of pics of him in his new bed.

 

[Tinytom]

Oh bless you and Goose ...we will keep everything crossed that one is the perfect fit for you and your special boy ....

 

[JudyN]

Oh I do hope it goes well. Fingers crossed...

 

[RGC]

A little update on Goose... He is eating better by himself, which is good but he is clearly quite sad being an only ferret with no one to bounce off(quite literally!). Last week I bought him an anti-anxiety doughnut bed, which he really loves. I haven't put it in his cage I've left it for when he's out, so now when he feels lost he goes and finds his bed instead of laying flat on the floor...but he is still sad. I've even been playing with him with a soft toy hand puppet, which he totally enjoyed interacting with for the first couple of times, now he just walks away and finds his bed

So a few days ago I verbalised the inevitable, 'That's it, we have to find him a friend!'

So, no ferrets at the rspca, but Gem ferret rescue gave me a number of someone who fosters for them... we've had a chat and upshot is she's popping over on Saturday with 2 different boys for Goose to meet! So now it's up to Goose, he may or may not like one of them, we shall have to wait and see...either way, I'm sure there will be a friend for him out there somewhere!

Looks like I'm destined to continue my journey being a ferret lady!! Good job I love the little stinkers eh!

Here's a couple of pics of him in his new bed.

Good for you, Ferretmum. Would be grateful for a video of Goose with his new companion. I’ve never had much to do with ferrets but there was a boy at school (boarding) who was allowed to keep them. His nickname was ‘Stench’ but I’m not sure whether this was a derivative of his surname (Stephens) or his personal fragrance. Boys can be very

 

[RGC]

……cruel.

 

[Flobo]

That made me chuckle @RGC
They do have quite a um, distinct aroma...ferrets that is, not boys...actually both!
I'll see if I can do the video thing but I've tried before and I think I have to do it through YouTube, is that right tech brains of the forum??

 

[Hemlock]

You have been so good with helping Goose, and I hope GEM finds you a suitable new ferret.