While Zephyr is a rough and tumble ferret who loves to play Ella is more of a lover. She's very affectionate and can be downright cuddly at times. Oh, she definitely has times when she gets really bouncy and playful and she can easily outwrestle Zephyr, but she's not aggressive at all.

While Ella is a slim and sleek little weasel in the summer she really tends to put on a lot of weight in the winter and looks like a miniature version of Kodo, my old "Big Bear". She gets called "Ella Bear" more than a little as a result. All of the pictures I've posted so far are of the somewhat pudgy winter version of Ella. The extra weight doesn't seem to slow her down, though, and she can still climb, bounce, and wrestle keeping pace with the others. In the spring she slims down in a hurry and I sometimes end up calling her "Barely Ella" since there's hardly anything of the bear look left.

I'm not sure if Ella is my dominant alpha or Chin Soon is. I know that when Zephyr wanted to take charge during Nyssa's final days that Ella trounced her. Chin Soon and Ella pretty much wrestle to a draw but sometimes Chin Soon has more staying power.

That blue blanket you see Ella snoozing on at the top of the page or walking on at right is a favorite of hers. She plays in it, hides things in it, and sleeps in or on it. Sometimes Chin Soon comes by and the two of them have a wrestling match in and on the blanket. Ella also loves a fleecy sleep sack she came with. It's falling apart but she still like to sleep in it. Finally, there's an old fuzzy, soft tube that dates back from when Tenchi and Adric were the only ferrets in the house. It, too, is falling apart but Ella is curled and sleeping in what's left of it as I write this.

By the latter part of 2007 Ella began to slowly lose her eyesight. A year and a half later she appeared to be completely blind. The process of losing her sight was gradual and she has adjusted amazingly well. She remembers where things are and has no problem tearing down the hallway at full speed. We don't move certain things. The three story " ferret condo" is not just for playing or sleeping in. That is Ella's way of climbing up on the couch. She can climb the inside or the outside. A favorite blanket is always found in the same spot. We always feed the ferrets Bob Church's Chicken Gravy at the beginning of evening playtime. Ella absolutely loves the stuff and will make a mad dash out of the cage to get to the gravy ahead of the other ferrets.

We still do move toys and tunnels around in certain parts of the living room and the spare bedroom we mostly use as a ferret room. Ella carefully explores the edge of the tunnels and balls to find her way in and then explores and plays the same way she always has. She also gets into little battles with Zephyr in the tunnels. For the most part if you didn't know she was blind you'd probably never guess. At seven years old she's otherwise healthy, very happy, very active, and still loves rough play.

-Last updated 11 April 2009

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