My Fuzzies

I have 3 ferrets: Fucifer, Lascivia, and ...Kitty. (I didn't name the 3rd one). Fucifer is a 2 year old gray and white male, Lascivia is a dark chocolate brown female about the same age (she has the traditional brown and tan that you think of when you picture a ferret ..you know, with the masked face). Kitty is another female, almost 5 years old, and grayish white like Fucifer ..but getting more and more white as the months pass.

Don't ask me to do any translating because its been too many years since my last Latin class and most of it has gone out the window ..even after 3 years of studying it. That being said...

Fucifer is Latin for "Thief," Lascivia is Latin for "Mischief" And Kitty is well, Kitty. I was not Kitty's first owner, nor was I Lascivia's. I adopted both of them from other people that could no longer care for them. Kitty was raised with a bunch of cats and thinks she is one, and answer's to her name so I couldn't change it.

Lascivia's original name was *gasp* "Lola Cherry Cola." That name might have been fine for the 7-year-old little boy who owned her originally, but that name, whether she answered to it or not (which she didn't I found out,thank goodness) would not be spoken in my household - it was just too ridiculous. At first I just shortened it to Lola, but that reminded me of her entire name each time I said it. So in the end, I gave her a more fitting name, and the little booger has grown into it quite well; she is VERY mischievous.

The oldest, Kitty, was actually my first ferret - adopted from a local friend. The friend had bought Kitty from the same store Fucifer came from, about 2 years earlier. As time went by my friend realized that she was not giving Kitty enough attention and play time - at least not enough as she deserved. And after a while, the only time Kitty came out of her cage to play was when I came over to visit. Kitty eventually got to know the sound of my voice and immediately showed signs of interest and wanting to play when she saw and heard me. Eventually my friend decided it was best if she found someone who had more time to spend with Kitty and I ended up adopting her. This turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me! I love that little girl!

As a principle, I generally try to adopt pets from the shelters, individuals who can no longer keep them, or rescues. Pet Stores = breeding, and lots of it. There is a huge pet overpopulation problem in the United States and I would like to keep from adding to it (that is a whole other discussion). BUT, yes there is always a but... One day I was in one of our local pet stores to get some ferret food for Kitty and I noticed a new litter of baby ferrets. I had to go over and look at them, they were so adorable. I went over to the pen where they had them and Fucifer (just a few weeks old) walked right over to the side of the cage where I was standing and started to climb my arm as soon as I reached down. I melted and we immediately bonded. I was such a sucker and there was no way he was not coming home with me, so I started examining him and discovered that he had a prolapsed colon (Anal gland/area was sticking outside the body).

I brought this to the attention of the store owner and she immediately put the little guy in isolation so he could be watched, fed a special diet for a couple weeks and taken to the Vet. I told her that after this isolation period and vet visit I would very much like to take him home. His medical isolation was during Christmas break and I in there every day checking on him, holding him and talking to him. They put my name on his cage so they could make sure he would not be sold to anyone else by accident. His colon was fine after a week or so and I was allowed to take him home ..for an extremely reduced cost no less, as a "reward" for discovering his medical problem. Fucifer is now my baby boy and a great ferret.

A year or so later Kitty appeared to take a turn for the worst. She wasn't eating much, she lost a lot of weight and her fur turned extremely lighter than it had been when I first got her. I was worried and took her to the vet several times but they couldn't find anything wrong. I began to worry that Kitty would not be around much longer because she was so lethargic and just not looking well all together. I suspected Adrenal disease and wondered how much time she had left. During the year or so I had had both Kitty and Fucifer, they had bonded VERY well and had become best buddies - always playing together and sleeping together, grooming each other. Having read many ferret magazines, the thought occurred to me that Fucifer might become extremely lonely if Kitty passed on. So, the search started for a 3rd ferret to adopt...someone Fucifer could bond with before Kitty was gone, to make the transition easier for him..

As luck would have it, the perfect Ferret was for adoption from a woman who lived in Austin, about an hour and a half from here. The ferret actually belonged to her seven-year old son, but he was losing interest in her after the recent purchase of their new dog. The mother didn't think it was fair to keep their ferret under these circumstances and placed an add on the Internet (http://www.petfinder.com/ for anyone interested) offering her ferret, Lola Cherry Cola, for adoption. I talked to the woman a few times on the phone and corresponded with her via e-mail. After a week or so we set up a date and time to drive over to Austin to pick up Lola.

Fucifer came with us in his travel cage to meet Lola so we could judge whether or not the two would get along before we brought her home with us. (Us being myself and my boyfriend Jim). He slept the whole way there (Fucifer, not Jim). When we arrived Fucifer went in to meet Lola and the two seemed to hit it off right away, so the adoption was complete! They slept together, snuggled up in the hammock of the travel cage all the way back home. And after a few minutes of sniffing upon arriving at the house, Lola was friends with Kitty too.

A month or two later Kitty had seemingly made a full recovery from ...whatever had been wrong with her. She has been more lively ever since (over three years later). Although she seems to and shed a lot of her hair two or three months out of every year ..but she never seems to notice and it doesn't stop her from playing. The three little rascals are now inseparable and seem to get into more trouble than three two-year old human children, if that is possible. They entertain me with hours of love and hysterical comedy - it is total slap stick. I love them with all my heart, my fuzzy kids :)