| Vol. 3, No. 1 | 14 Feb, 2004 |
It's hard to believe that our last issue was really in August of 2002. TWO! Things have been very active around here, and the computer has been busy so there hasn't been much of a chance to get a new news letter out. But here it is at last.
I guess the big news items are that Quasimodo went to New Hampshire for adrenal surgery, we got a new ferret here, Marie, and I've come down with adrenal myself.
But before we get to any of that, we need to catch up on our friends in the fur who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge . We read the news group alt.pets.ferrets whenever we can, and try to note each departure for the Bridge as they're mentioned on that group. Here are those who've gone on since the last time. If we missed anyone, please e-mail us and we'll get them in the next time around.
Gideon, Don Juan, Chippewa, Lilly, Tiger, Mochi, Bongo, Tarot, Taz, Taz (another one), My Pigs, SnoCap, Tony, Heidi, Bandit, What, Shawn, Boris, BJ, Emmet, Rascal, Chloe, Buck, Zuebey, Rascal, Sissy, Spanky, Pepper, Kitty, Squeazel, Cappuccino, Nia, Nattalie, Ninja, Sashi, Simon, Loki, Ozzy, Sebastian, Murray, Tinker, Phoebe, Bogger, Bashu, Osmar, Roxanne, George, Vixen, Mickey...
...and Minya (see addendum).
And also a few non-ferret friends have moved on as well.
Onyx the mink, Potter the rat, Moustache the cat and Tippy the dog.
The report on the couch is not good. They rearranged the living room again and where the couch is now it's all too easy for them to clean under it, which they do WAY to often. We haven't been able to get a decent collection of anything at all under there. But there is hope yet. We found that we can put stuff INSIDE the couch.
Also, unfortunate, the humans son Dan has come home for a while and brought his dog with him. His dog ALSO puts things in the couch and, sometimes, takes our stuff out. We haven't been able to work out any deals with this dog yet because she's a puppy and just full of energy and is perfectly willing to claw around under (or in!) the couch for seemingly hours on end.
Quasimodo came down with adrenal disease during the winter. They tested him at our vet, then made a trip to a specialist in New Hampshire, a hundred miles, for additional tests. He then went up over night with a friend of Bill's who happend to live just a few miles from the hospital up there. He got his surgery and had the most amazing scar on his tummy. He's fine now, and back to his full huge weight.
We got a new ferret from some people who were moving away and were thinking of just letting her go. Her name is Marie (we'll get a picture of her up as soon as we can). She was very thin when she came here, but fattened up very nicely when she got our usual food mix, and lots of it. She got herself stuck in her cage, so she got an early trip to the vet where they said, other than the problem with her foot (pinched nerve), she looked very good. She's adjusted pretty well and gets along with me and Quasimodo just fine. She keeps getting in fights with Razzle. Quasi and I just stay out of the way. Each of them think they should be boss, but they seem to be slowly working out their differences. Razzle stopped stealing Marie's blanket, so I guess that's some progress.
And I've come down with adrenal disease myself. I've had blood tests and more blood tests and had to stay at the vets twice for them. It's sure that I've got it. I'm too old for the operation Quasi had. They say it would kill me, and I guess they're right. I've always been very thin and now even more so, and my age is telling on me. Still, other than getting a bit less fuzzy and sleeping a bit more, I feel pretty good.
They're looking into a treatment with shots and going to the vets every month or so, but we probably won't do that. Going to the vets pretty much always makes me sick, especially when I get shots (they say I get "stressed," whatever that means). They're watching my weight, which has gone down some, and that second blood test was to check if I'm getting anemic. I am, a bit, but it's not bad yet. I guess they'll decide later about the shots.
So, with all that's happened what DO we do all the time? Quasimodo still plays with Shift the cat from time to time, though most of the cats go hide on high things while we're out. Marie made friends with Maggie, the biggest dog, and chases and gets chased around by her. We still steal the cat and dog toys while were're out and hide them under the couch, though they don't stay there as long as they used to. We've been hearing talk of a Christmas tree.
Since Bill's knee got fixed he's made some progress on ferret proofing more of the house, so we've got a much larger play area and get out more often than we used to. They still need to put up a door to the utility room, where the machines (freezer, 'fridge, washer and dryer) are, and put some transoms in other doors, so we can't slip under them. Right now they have to go around and block those things when we get out. Once those are done we'll be able to get out on a moments notice so we should see even more play time.
Another big play-time project on the horizon is the new cage being planned to be built over Christmas vacation. Materials are being gathered and ideas noted down from stuff people have suggested on the news group. We saw some pictures of very interesting cages. It look like ours will be about seven feet tall, five feet long and wedge shaped, two feet at one end and three at the other. Lot's of room and shelves and tunnels and such. We'll post some pictures when we move in.
The cats continue to fly around when we manage to sneak up on them, but mostly they just find hiding places when we come out. Now that we have full access to the upstairs when we get out to play, they don't have as many places to hide as they used to so it's more fun. Shift and Quasimodo continue to be pals, but most of the rest of the cats don't think much of us.
Bill usually brings his laundry into the living room to sort and fold while watching movies, often while we're about. I don't think he's too keen on us making off with his socks, but other than that little problem, he doesn't protest when we swim around in the laundry basket or when Quasimodo does belly dives into it from the couch. We haven't decided if it's more fun to climb around in after it's folded and put back in the basket, or when it's fresh from the dryer. When it's folded the paths and tunnels are easier to find, which makes for good chases, but when it's fresh from the dryer it's warm and more fun to explore.
As most of you probably know, Minya was the writer of our news letter. I (Quasimodo) and Razzle helped with watching the screen and moving the mouse around and so forth, but she did most of the writing and was the boss ferret around here. Marie hadn't gotten a job on the letter yet, mostly because we haven't had much of a chance to get at the computer of late.
Minya scampered over the Rainbow Bridge last night. We haven't picked a new boss ferret yet, and don't know who, if anyone, will write more news letters.
We're all going to miss her.
- Quasimodo 02/14/2004