The Ferrets of Disorder
Here you see Lady Ayeka again in the summer of 2004, asleep with her newly arrived friend Chin Soon. You'll notice Ayeka's belly had been shaved. She was six years old and recovering from insulinoma and adrenal surgery. While ferrets are great
companions, both playful and incredibly affectionate, they are also very high maintenance and incredibly expensive when they have health problems. I love these little weasels (ferrets are members of the mustelid, or weasel, family) and they are worth every penny, but... expect to spend anywhere from $1,000 on up per ferret on medical emergencies. Ferrets are clearly not for everyone and represent a major commitment. That doesn't make them any less cute or adorable, awake or asleep.
I currently have three ferrets. 10 more have come and gone as old age and illness have taken their toll. Of the current three Chin Soon has been with me
the longest, arriving in the late spring of 2004. My housemate at the time was
called to do a rescue. An 11 month old ferret had been left at a local marshall arts place. Chin Soon (pictured on the left) had never been around other ferrets and was terrified of them at first but she quickly became attached to us and to our oldest ferret, Podo. We had wanted her to bond to the younger ferrets but she and Podo quickly became fast friends. Podo was rapidly approaching his tenth birthday but he still loved to wrestle and Chin Soon was more than willing to oblige the old guy.
By the time Podo passed away Chin Soon had become close to Lady Ayeka. The bad news was that Ayeka needed surgery for both insulinoma and adrenal disease. She came through it all just fine but we learned she had lymphoma as well. In November of 2004 we got still more bad news about my oldest surviving ferret, Nyssa, as she too was diagnosed with lymphoma. That was also the month I moved to take a new job. The four ferrets, two of which I knew were terminally ill, joined me the next month. It was just me and the ferrets. It had been a really rough year.
2005 started with more bad news. Celia Wright, a long time active member of TriFL, the ferret club I was heavily involved in at the time, passed away in January. A notice was posted looking for a "forever home" for her two young (as in roughly two and three year old) ferrets, Ella, who was covering from adrenal surgery at the time, and Zephyr. Knowing I'd be down to just two ferrets quite soon I quickly volunteered to adopt them. It wasn't long before they came home to live with me. Ella, Zephyr, and Chin Soon, rescues all, are my current three. Lady Ayeka passed away in February, 2005 after battling lymphoma for six months. She had good quality of life and was active until two days before her death.
Chin Soon had come a long way and immediately took to Ella and Zephyr. Nyssa didn't like newcomers at all and she was still strong enough to be pretty rough on them. Nyssa had barely accepted Chin Soon to that point, though they would later become fast friends.
Another older ferret I had at the time, Romana, had her seventh birthday in September, 2005 and seemed blissfully healthy until November. The picture on the left shows Nyssa (awake) and Romana (sleeping) in the travel carrier on a vet visit in early that month. Romana had her distemper vaccine and was given a clean bill of health. Less than a week later something was wrong. At first we thought a stomach bug of some sort but she ended up first at the emergency vet, then at her regular vet, then across the state at one of the best ferret vets I know. We think there was a tumor, some sort of cancer, in her bowel or intestines that ruptured. Once again I had to say goodbye to a ferret I loved. It was all very sudden.
The little miracle I can report is that Nyssa, thanks to a combination of excellent vet care and just plain being too stubborn to die, battled lymphoma and mostly had a good quality of life for 19 months after diagnosis. That's the longest I've heard of so far. I am particularly greatful to Dr. Holly Weston at Jordan Lake Animal Hospital in Pittsboro, NC, Dr. Robert Rosing at Miamitown Pet Hospital in Cleves, OH, and Dr. Sarah Wolfe at DePere Animal Hospital in DePere, WI. Each time I thought I was losing Nyssa one of these fine ferret vets came up with another idea to not only extend her life but to also maintain a good quality of life for her. I celebrated Nyssa's eighth birthday in May of 2006. Right to the end she still loved to explore and was fiercely posessive of her favorite stuffed doggie. In July, 2006, I finally had to say goodbye to Nyssa as the combination of steroids and pain medication could no longer keep her comfortable.
...and then there were three. Thankfully Ella, Zephyr, and Chin Soon were all happy and healthy through 2007. Late that year Ella began losing her eyesight. It happened slowly and she adjusted brilliantly, still running around and playing like nothing has happened. By the start of 2009 Ella was completely blind but still a happy, playful and otherwise healthy seven year old ferret.
By the spring of 2009 it was obvious that all was not well with Chin Soon. She was losing hair in the classic adrenal pattern and she began to be less than steady on her feet. She ended up having surgery for both adrenal disease and insulinoma at the same time. As I write this she seems to be recovering well.
To me ferrets are amazing. No matter how bad a day I've had they'll do something so funny, so mischievious, or so sweet that I can't help but end up smiling or laughing. That's what makes ferrets such great pets.
-updated 12 April 2007
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