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Calcifur, AKA Cali & Orynx
• Surrendered to the Shelter on March 18, 2015. Calcifur found a Forever Home on December 19, 2015!
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March 23, 2018:
Both sticking together, Cali with very little movement heavy breathing. They crawled in the cage on their own.
July 17, 2018:
Got to Doc at 8:15 to hear there was a power outage, thought so as we came through several non working traffic lights. Waited till 9:30 which was the time it was to be restored and still out. We rescheduled for Thursday. He did take a quick look at her mouth at my request and the cyst is still there. Cali is really slowing down. Bain reminded me as to how lack of energy she has. They both make little noises after eating their soup as they clean themselves, not sure what to make of it.
Shelter Response: Bummer, OK. So sad. They are Uncomfortable.
April 24, 2018:
She is ok considering what she is carrying around in her. She has an appetite and has eaten kibble on her own. She actually even played in her tube with Bob finger boxing with her. She sleeps just as much as any ferret and walks around the bedroom and to the bathroom and sometimes in to the living room and into and out of her cage into the hammock. She does collapse after doing her business , guess it takes a lot of energy.
Doc Edwards called me again yesterday concerned about the fluid that has been detected. ( Dr. M called him ) I can't feel it, not sure if it's gone now. Fla Doc Medlin had called him to go over her condition and he has called me 2x to go over how she feels and have not been able to talk to him as we have been playing phone tag. I keep leaving messages and so does he.
Tomorrow I am taking Crumpet to have an x-ray taken just to be sure nothing else is going on with her. she is not too active either.
I can talk to Dr. M then. I think he thinks we are waiting too long to put her to sleep.
Doc Edwards wanted to make sure we don't wait too long to put her to sleep if her condition is getting bad but as I told him she is active, walks around, eats on her own plus the soup and does her business he didn't think she was at death's door either.
April 21, 2018:
Hi Brenda.. Cali continues to improve in her mobility. She actually went into her tube then on her back to play with Bob. She also picked up her favorite little tennis ball and moved it under the bed.
Had her face in the kibbles around 5:15pm and has eaten one or two bandits. Ate her entire bowl of soup at 5:30pm Meds at 11ish am and pm. She has been licking her bottom a lot and I do not see any rash or redness there. All her worldly belongings food and cage ( which she has gone in and out of on her own several times ) are in our bedroom. They both like to sleep on the shag rug in the bathroom and sometimes in their bed although Cali slides her body half way out at times. I know that the tumor ( mass ) etc will not shrink based on her meds. We are taking each day at a time and not kidding ourselves that she is terminal. We have talked about giving her the rest of the week to see how she does. We may or may not make the trip home with her. Time will tell.
April 20, 2018:
Hi Brenda.. she did not show the comitose symptoms of yesterday but she is still very limited in her movement.
She only ate 1/2 of the soup she normally does, she will drag herself to the poo paper then collapse afterwards, she is sleeping comfortably. I gave her pred & soup at 3:30 am and will again at 9:30 and then pred around 3:30 pm
We spoke with Doc Edwards after he viewed the x-ray and could not definitively tell me whether the mass is lymphoma or not without examining her in person.
He said we can say our goodbyes and have the Dr. here operate to see what he can take out or just close her back up and not resuscitate or we can continue to give her pred in hopes that she would improve over a week's time is the earliest he said we would see if any improvement.
Doc here said her belly feels like there is fluid so Doc Edwards said she could be bleeding internally. Our appt. is at 5 pm. I will forward to you the medical info so you can take a look ( separate email).
Hope you are feeling better.
Long story Dr Edwards said 1/2 a mil. Dr. Medlin said .70 although he did not recommend it since it would distend her stomach much more and make her even more uncomfortable. We are using the liquid we have for crumpet double her dose. .30 We will reevaluate her condition bon Monday. We are having a hard time letting go.
March 23, 2018:
According to Doc Scott Medlin all her numbers seem normal.. even though she has some wobbliness to her hind legs. May be due to anemia but nothing conclusive on the CBC results. Crumpet's tooth extraction surgery is Tuesday. She has started on Prednisolone ( low dosage) she hates the stuff even though I syringe some of the soup with it. She doesn't mind the Moxy at all.
January 20, 2017:
January 14, 2017:
Snuggle buddies they enjoy the fresh air in the Lanai and love the blankets I have on the floor for them. 
December 24, 2017:
November 10, 2017:
They love the shag rug in the bathroom.
Ili
March 22, 2017:
She has good energy this am she had a play session with Bob and I fed her last night around 10 pm before heading to bed.
So far today she has had good poops and has been eating on her own even after soup. Talked to Vet this am.. not a ferret expert
Shelter Response: That is awesome news, keep up the soup she should do just fine till you get her home to see OFD. I am not surprised.. I am here if you need me. Thanks for the update.
December 12, 2016:
Cali and Crumpet opening their presents from the shelter they came from.
Thank you Brenda!
September 3, 2016:
Miss Ili sent this picture of her girls to Mum...This is how you know your fur kids like soup!
Do you know how important soup is? It will and has kept ferrets alive through very serious illness' It allows you to give your kids meds without a fuss because they don't know they are in the soup..
April 30, 2016:
Hi Mom and Dad, we are having a grand time at camp. We got to help Aunt Brenda in the ferret room this morning. She got pictures of us checking the place out. Take a look
July 17, 2016:
Hi Mom and Dad,
You sure are busy walking, biking and looking at things. We are having a great time at camp. Aunt Brenda is giving us soup and treats every day. We get to go in all the rooms that she does not need to put the trouble makers into (her words not ours)
We hope you are having a good time, there is not much to report because we are good fur kids and don't get into trouble.
We love you
Cali and Crumpet
July 13, 2016:
Hi Brenda, we got to North Woodstock in NH with great weather all the way, leaving at 7 am and got here at 3 pm. Glad the girls got your space I was worried all night since they didn't have their cage for the night and may have been stressed out before getting used to the place again and their food, Hope they can get some play time as they are used to, too. Do your best I know you have your hands full.
Ttyl
Ili
Shelter Response: The girls had my space till 8 when I got home then they were rotated into other play areas till noon. They get what the others (A and O, Jack and Mike) can't have because they can't behave. They are eating drinking and pooping. They are doing fine.. enjoy your vacation and don't worry. If there is a problem I will let you know. Brenda
April 3, 2016:
Hey Brenda, just noticed Crumpet's vulva kind of puffy and her nipples a bit pink.. so it looks like that is adrenal disease beginning right?
April 2, 2016:
Cali pooped 2x this jelly like substance.looks more pink than red along with some brown. Place is immaculate so nothing she got into. Been eating normally and only new thing is the bandits and gooberlicious treats.willtake that off her list to eat to see if that is what is causing it. Poop is normal for crumpet. We are up if you want to call. Ili
PM Update: We left around 9 am to the beach and got back around 1;30 , gave her soup, there was 2 poopy that looked normal, they ran and played in the house and then went back to sleep.
March 13, 2016:
Cali and Crumpet are hanging out in Florida with their Mom and Dad
February 26, 2016:
They are doing great.. we are so happy to see them play together and Crumpet not beat up on Cali. They have been sleeping together in the hammock of the cage for the most part. Ate soup and kibbles and treats so far poop looks good and not stressed out.
ili
February 21, 2016:
While I was serving up meds this morning I hear a ruckus in the playroom, went in to see what was going on, I found Cali and Crumpet playing "pop corn popping" up in sleep box. I tried getting pictures but they were too busy bouncing. They were having a ball.
February 15, 2016:
I found both your girls sleeping in the fish at the bottom of the stairs this morning!
Mom's Response: Awesome! Love to hear it! You are a miracle worker! Thank you so much!
February 11, 2016:
We had a break through this morning, I have been letting the girls in the morning roam 3 of the rooms while I get things up and running to do meds. There have been no squeaks from Cali in days. I start them in different rooms, then they find each other in their travels.
This morning I had Crumpets in the playroom and Cali in the ferret room, I watch to make sure there are no scuffles, I followed Cali into the playroom she found Crumpets walked right up to her. Crumpets crawled into the huge bungalow Cali followed. There was no scuffle they both slithered out and went on their way. We may be on our way of bonding. They had their soup on the rug in the playroom next to each other.
February 6, 2016:
I had the girls out and about with me while I did soup and meds, they had the ferret room, playroom, and bath room. They spent a good 30 min before I had to pull Crumpets away from Cali. I gave her a 5 min time out then let her out of the playpen again.
Cali had gone up to the sleep box in the playroom, crumpets found her. When I got up top to get them apart Cali was in the tube looking at Crumpets - Cali's eyes did not show fear. I believe we are gaining ground with the girls.
January 13, 2016:
Cali in one of her blankets having a great nap.
January 7, 2016:
Brenda with Crumpet and Cali not getting along it will be like housing 2 separate boarders.
I have been using the front room and a play pen in a rectangle shape and both take turns in it and staying in the room over night.
Today Crumpet was downstairs sleeping around 10am having been up since 6 am when Bob takes her out of the room and takes Cali out of the playpen and can roam the room. By the way Cali loves the soup now and eats it non-stop ( thick with baby food in it).
I had a board blocking the downstairs but also had a blanket wrapped on the edges to not mark the wall. I was taking the ornaments down from the tree in the sun room and Bob was in the kitchen. Before we knew it Cali had climbed the edge and over she went we heard her squeal as Crumpet was beating her up.
I felt so bad for her , we left Crumpet in the front room until about 5pm today and had Cali the rest of the house and I had a hard time finding her once I got back from the shelter.
So I guess the only advice is to keep them separate as Crumpet wants to jump and play and Cali doesn't want any part of it. I think they still need to see each other and smell and be aware that they are suppose to be together.
So maybe putting two playpens side by side upstairs or putting one downstairs in one of the rooms would work. I leave it up to you.
I will bring the girls on Friday and stay and clean and help set up the playpen(s).
December 29, 2015:
Cali is doing great with us , not so much with Crumpet.
She has gotten used to our soup and cleans it up in the morning when Bob gives it to her, spends time playing with her in the front room.
While Crumpet is sleeping downstairs I block the stairs and give her the run of the house as she likes to explore.
She is eating well and even Crumpet likes her food ( what is the small pebble kibble?) A few times she has gotten a kibble triangle shape stuck in the roof of her mouth which I have removed.
Every morning I get them both together but lately Crumpet has become more aggressive and wants to play or bite can't tell and Cali starts screaming.
I have put ferrettone on their necks, exchanged their bedding, had them explore each others areas too. I have held them each in my arms and let them sniff and lick each other which they did today, but that's as far as it goes once I let them down, Crumpet wants to play and she is so much bigger than Cali I usually hold her back within reach in case Cali doesn't accept her.
I also would have Cali in her playpen and had Crumpet come in to the room and she circles the cage dooking to get her attention and peeking in. I think she means well but Cali does not like her.
Some get acquainted sessions are better than others, today's did not go well.
ili
December 25, 2015:
Dear far away Mom, guess what I got for Christmas. I got a new 4-ever home with one of the shelter helpers that comes here to help every week. I am living with Miss Ili and Mr. Bob in Canandaigua NY now. See attached that is Miss Ili - my new Mom.. Mum says she will keep you informed on my progress.
Mum says she has someone in mind for you if you wish - Snowball or Lance.
I love you and thank you for taking care of me while I was here.
December 24, 2015:
she was licking ferretone so she would stay put and I could take her photo. She just had the whole house to herself, except downstairs where Crumpet is sleeping.
Earlier today they were mingling in the hallway and library, Crumpet wants to play with her and she is still not ready.
She did a few happy dances today but no dooking yet.
December 23, 2015:
Shelter Mum: Good morning, I've not told Trish that Cali has gone to a new home because I was waiting to hear what you and Bob have decided. Are you going to keep her? I don't want to tell Trish until we are sure she is going to stay with you. If she is staying I will send her presents home with you the next time you come to the shelter.
Ili: Hi Brenda, yes we are committed to keeping her, she is coming around with Crumpet just yesterday spent a good 10 minutes milling around the bathroom and library without any incident. I think she will accept her in good time.
We have a Doc apt next Thursday for a checkup.
The paperwork I have said Abbie owned her and I called her yesterday and had a question about the item that fell on her head that was in the medical form. It was her bday and she was elated that we had adopted her. I also called the Ithaca vet to clarify a vaccination date that was not showing clearly on the paper.
December 21, 2015:
She is warming up to us fine , she is slow to have soup , so I spoon feed her some and she takes a few licks, not sure if putting in the baby food in it and being thicker is strange to her.
I let her explore a bit more of the house, she bolted while I held her when I turned on the shower, didn't even get her wet.
Bob plays with her and once in a while will bite really hard.
She nipped crumpet again today when I had them get close to each other, poor crumpet she has been dooking each time she gets in the room since she wants to play with her. So I will need to give it time for Cali to accept another ferret in her life I guess.
She is scratching a bit and I wonder if I need to take her to Doc for a chip for adrenal since Emily scratched a lot and ended up with it. Last Doc apt she had was 9-2014.
Shelter Mum's Response: We make our soup more like broth, not the gravy like you make it. She is unsure and scared.. this is all very new to her. It takes them a good 30 days to realize this is their new home and they have a right to feel comfortable in it. That is he telling you she feels unsafe and insecure. Stop putting them near each other. The harder you push the longer it is going to take if ever. She was not showing any signs of adrenal disease when she was here. Seeing doc is up to you.
December 19, 2015:
Cali has found a Forever Home! Ili stopped in to bring her girls their presents then ended up adopting Cali. We hope she and Crumpets will mesh, time will tell.
Ili: I totally forgot to get the special soup spoon I used for Emily. I didn't get it when I picked up Crumpet earlier this week.
Cali is settling in, I had a quick meet and greet and they were both dooking, gave them both soup too.
Her dooking sounds like a mild squeal or is that a warning sound? they had a short scuffle and I took Crumpet out of the play pen, that might have been premature on my part .
December 16, 2015:
I am doing the happy dance, thanking you for all my Christmas presents you sent for me. Thank you for helpen out Mum take care of me.
Far away mom's response: So happy you love them baby girl. Everytime I get a picture of you from mum it makes my day. Mum I have never seen anything that Ms Sandy has made that I didn't like. It was beautiful.
Mum I need some advice on the 2 little girls that I sit for on occasionally. But I'll call you about it after the holidays.
I didn't get Cali any chicken baby food because I wasn't sure what kind. Let me know when you get a chance.
Hugs I love you
August 20, 2015:
Brenda,
I am so relieved to hear that it sound like Cal is doing well and will survive the loss of her friend.
Thank you so much for giving me details on what happened and how she is doing. I feel much more at peace after having read your e-mail, it really means the word to me.
I know it's not much, but my family and I have both sent small donations in memory of Oryx.
Things are better with me, I am still getting on my feet but anticipate I will be in the near future.
Thank you again for everything you've done, and continue to do. Best,
Abbie
Brenda's response:
Good morning Abbie
Cali has settled in and is willing to hang with me when she is out and about.. she kind of likes being the only child. I am glad, I am sorry we had that happen but unfortunately in a shelter setting it is not uncommon. We fortunately have only had it hit us twice in 22 years. I do my best to keep contamination and sharing illness to a minimum. I did not put 2 + 2 together with the donation from Gary, is that your dad? Thank you for understanding and helping us take care of these kids. Donations are like raindrops - each one adds to the other to make a lot. I am pleased and will tuck you into my God Box for safe keeping. Thanks again for helping us out My pleasure. These fur kids are my love, my life and my passion. The CT address is that your current address you are at? Cali wants to send you a note.
August 4, 2015:
Good Morning Abbie,
Cal is doing well, when they lose a cage mate I make them my shadow, she was up here with me in my space dancing and chasing while I got ready for work yesterday morning. I took the week off without pay last week just to be here to take care of all the sick kids. We had 16 cages of sick kids. Darby is not doing well this morning, I put her in her cage then decided she was too sick for that so I put her back in the play pen, I will keep her there.
Cali is doing well, no signs of stress. She knew her sissy was really sick, she slept with her in the hammock the entire time, when I found Oryx gone in the hammock Cali had moved to the sleep box so she knew she was gone. No I don't think so, how are things going with you?
August 3, 2015:
Brenda,
I was checking up on the blog periodically to see how the girls were doing and saw the news... I know you did/are doing everything you can but is there anything I can do to help Cal? I am very worried about how she will do alone as she has never been alone before - I understand that there's probably not a lot I can do but if there *is* anything at all please let me know.
Best,
Abbie
July 26, 2015:
Oryx has left for the Rainbow Bridge.
July 25, 2015:
All cages tagged get Moxy even if their poo looks better, they need Moxy for 10 days. Once they are done, I mix the bowls of soup for the kids that need Pred and Moxy but are well enough now that they are eating their full bowl of soup. Then I move on to the ferrets that are on Pred. Once I have meds done I start fluids. Oryx is not responding although I did not find any icky sticky poo in their cage, I am thinking she is not pooing because she is not eating. She looks down right miserable.
July 24, 2015:
Oryx and Bandit are still struggling. They are the only two at this time getting fluids.
I am so glad I introduce soup to the kids when they come in, meds are so much easier on me and them. Several kids are still getting a dropper of soup with meds because they don't eat a full bowl of soup but at least they are not fighting me when they realize it is soup.
July 23, 2015:
AM: Oryx looks like she may be improving, she is a moving dishrag. No new icky poo boxes found this morning so far.
PM: Oryx is skin and bone I am not at all sure she is going to pull through this.
July 22, 2015:
AM: Oryx is still very sick, Bandit is not doing well but better than Oryx.
PM: BB seems to be feeling better although his poo does not look better, Bandit and Oryx are getting fluids 3 times a day. The bigger kids are bouncing back faster. I am not waiting until I see lots of icky poo, a drop will put them on the list for meds, with the hope I don't have to do fluids too.
July 21, 2015:
We are up... more kids sick. Oryx has lost weight and is not eating, started her on Moxy and Carafate. I am going to have my hands full this week, keeping kids in meds and fluids.
July 6, 2015:
I moved Cali and Oryx into the cage Bear was using since Bear is occupying the playpen permanently. He seems to be much happier in there is moving from blanket to blanket, still eating 2 bowls of soup at a sitting. As long as he is comfortable and happy there, I will keep him there.
May 4, 2015:
When Preston is here there are 2 rooms down, kitchen and bathroom, not a real big deal since we are using the porch. I put all the playroom kids away early because the made me angry. Princess and Cali got themselves mixed with Max and Oryx.. I think what happened was I was pulling Cali and Oryx off the porch and putting Max and Princess on...Princess got down the tube and on the floor before I had both girls picked up so I grabbed Princess thinking it was Cali.. I discovered the mix up as I was getting ready to leave for work. I had to stop and figure out why Oryx was giving who I thought was Cali a hard time. Long story short I figured out who was mixed with who and straightened them out but was running late so I set the 2 girls in the ferret room so I could leave.
Oryx got out of the ferret room so when I got home I spent a fair amount of time looking for her in that room, taking drawers out and such...I was so frustrated I tossed Cali in her cage before 9, when the others started appearing I tossed them in as well.
I found Oryx in the library when Big Mike found her and started beating her up.. she got put away and so did Big Mike and his crew.. I had had enough. This was all before Preston walked in at 9. I've said it before, I'll say it again… good thing I can legally lock them up! They got 6 hrs instead of their usual 8 for a work day., so it did not kill them to go to bed early.
April 10, 2015:
I found Oryx in Angels cage and Angel in the library with the Rochester boys. I must have mixed the girls up when I was switching rooms earlier. Oryx was fast asleep in Angels hammock with no care in the world. Angel was a bit fluffed up because Ricardo wanted to sleep in the drawer Angel was in and she was not having any of it. It was Ricardo's demeanor that told me something was up so I checked the drawers he was standing in front of. Sure enough there was a little girl I thought was Oryx. Angel looked at me with a look that said why did you leave me in here with all these boys. So the kids are in their proper cages.
At one point I had more kids missing than I had MIA tags so I made new ones while I was waiting for the MIA kids to reappear. Phoenix wandered out from where he was when I was tagging cages.
March 31, 2015:
I weighed Cali and Oryx this morning, they are on the upward swing they have gained a couple of ounces since they were weighed 10 days ago. I am pleased.
March 30, 2015:
Cali was awake and ready to get up when I went to their cage this morning. She was still curled in her sleep box but was awake. Oryx is starting to put on some weight. I am so pleased they have come around so quickly.
Oryx woke up to see what I was doing in her cage (checking poo pan).
March 28, 2015:
The new girls are eating the TF and PO one food… they are going to be okay.. Oryx is still skinny but she may not beef up because it is spring and she may just have her summer weight on her. Cali has put on some weight, she is not as bright and active as Oryx. I always have to wake her in the morning when I get them up. I have to keep reminding myself they have only been here a bit over a week.
Hey Brenda,
Hope all is well. I have been following Oryx and Calcifer on the website, and am glad to see that you are taking such wonderful, loving care of them! It definitely makes me feel a bit better about a difficult decision.
I was going through laundry and found an extra blanket and hammock of theirs that I'd like to drop off for them, if possible. I was actually hoping to be able to visit the shelter at some point in May. It says that the visiting days are Sunday afternoons? Also, if there are supplies that the shelter particularly needs donations of, please let me know.
Thank you again for all that you do,
Abbie
March 27, 2015:
I think the new girls are going to be okay. We have good poo and a lot of it in the pan. I have stopped putting Marshalls on the right side dish. I will continue to do so on the left dish until I see them eating more than just the Marshalls. It looks like they are getting some of the other food but I want to be sure they are eating a lot more than Marshalls before I stop putting handfuls on top of the mixed food.
March 24, 2015:
The new girls are in the playroom this morning. So far they are doing okay in there. Cali is beefing up Oryx is not. They are bright and engaging so I am not going to worry too much about it, they have not been here a week yet.
March 23, 2015:
The new girls seem to be eating better, I have Cali taking soup from a dropper willingly she took about 10 mLs last night. Oryx is still fighting me so she got about 2 mLs last night.
March 22, 2015:
The new girls have lost a few oz, the poo was so/so this morning in the pan. When I set them down in the living room this morning they started to dance so maybe we are over the hump. Cali actually took 3 mLs of soup without force. I haven't caught up with Oryx to give her some.
March 20, 2015:
The new girls seem to be okay. They were active this morning and even engaged me in play, Oryx is more engaging than Cali. I got a mL of soup into each of them. As long as they are eating I am going to get started teaching them to eat soup. They don't have enough weight on them to survive any real illness so I am going to actively work on plumping them up.
March 19, 2015:
The new girls seem to have done well last night, they ate during the night, the litter box was full. No the girls are not babies they are 3 + years old. The reason they are so little is because they had a diet of 100% Marshalls food. A food to sustain life but certainly not a food to give them beautiful coats and decent weight. Right now they have the typical 2 dishes of food in their cage, I put a handful of Marshalls on top of the left side food so they did not have to dig to find the MF in their cage. They will need to dig to find it in the play areas.
Initial Contact, Owner, February 24, 2015:
I have two very sweet girls that I got off craigslist from a very bad situation about 2 1/2 years ago. They are living with me now in Ithaca, and are in much better health now, and very happy. It breaks my heart to do this as I always promised myself I wouldn't ever give them up, but a lot has changed in my life recently, and it would simply be unfair of me to keep them. They are my only family, and so I want to be sure I'm choosing the best possible scenario for them given the circumstances. I tried placing them through the Cornell vet school with no success. I called the SPCA here which is no kill, but unfortunately they could not ensure they'd be placed together which isn't an option for them. I was wondering if your shelter had any room, and if it did, if it would be alright if I posed some questions to you all about the facility and possibly arrange a date to visit with them.
All the best,
Abbie
Shelter response, February 24, 2015:
We have an opening at this time. This link will explain all that is required to surrender your ferrets to us. The ferrets must be current on vaccines with documentation.
New York State requires ferrets to be vaccinated with the rabies vaccine yearly, a more important vaccine is distemper. The distemper shots that are given to the ferrets before leaving the breeder are null and void as the FDA label states this vaccine does not work on kits under 8 weeks of age. The kits being moved from the breeder to the stores are 6 weeks when shipped.
Our web link includes ferret knowledgeable veterinarians available to get this done if you do not have a veterinarian of your own.
Current means 8 months or longer before the ferrets need to be vaccinated again. As the web site states everything that belongs to the ferrets comes with them up to and including the cage.
We do not separate cage mates so it is imperative that if you decide you are surrendering your ferrets to this facility you keep us informed so we keep an appropriate opening for you. We work on a first come first serve basis.
The shelter directors work schedule varies on a day to day basis so we need to determine a time that fits both yours and her schedule.
Surrenders generally take 45 min to an hour to complete. If you have any further questions we would be happy to answer them.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Abbie’s response:
Brenda,
I assume you mean complete records of their vaccines/most recent physical examinations? I can easily obtain those from my vet, so no worries there. I am continuing to try to re-home them with people I know and trust, but am running out of options.
I was wondering a little bit about what their lives would be like at the rescue. I've read the about section and it seems like they get a good amount of playtime and space to roam which is definitely reassuring. I'm wondering what the process of socialization is like with other ferrets? Also, do people play with them, or is it mostly other ferrets? They have met and got along very well with other ferrets, cats, and dogs, so I don't anticipate this would be an issue, but I am curious. They can be nervous around new people, and one of them is totally a momma's girl. Also, I was wondering if it were at all possible to see pictures of the facility before bringing them there? Additionally, I was wondering if it would be at all possible to leave my contact information with them. I know there's no guarantee whoever adopted them would make use of it, but if it were at all possible for me to be in touch with the future parent, as I know the girls best, that would be beyond wonderful. Lastly, in terms of transitioning, other than the information listed on the site, if there's anything at all I can do to make it easier on them to transition, please let me know. Whew! I know that's a lot of questions, but I am trying to make the most informed decision that I can given the circumstances.
Shelter response:
I understand you prefer placing the girls into a 4-ever home.
I am not at all sure what you mean, with other ferrets none...the bigger the business the less likely they will find a 4-ever home. If you want the girls to find a new home then placing them into a larger business is not going to accomplish that. Again if we add them to another group they are less likely to leave here.
New life new home, new schedule would make them nervous that is understandable, we do our best to keep any stress related issues from becoming a problem.
Take a look around at the web site we have all kinds of pictures of the rooms; we even have a video that explains what and why we do what we do.
Leaving us your contact information is done and required on surrender day . We let the ferrets pick the humans so they will be here for a while I am sure you will be able to follow them on our web site. I understand your concerns. Go look around our web site - watch the video.
Abbie’s response, March 8, 2015:
Brenda,
Thank you for all of your help! What is the best way for me to get my ferrets records to you all? I can contact my vet and have them sent over as early as Monday.
Shelter response, March 8, 2015:
If they can send me the records by electronic email that will work. You don't have hard copies on hand? When was the last time they saw the vet? When are you thinking of bringing them to surrender?
Abbie’s response:
Brenda,
They were both at the vet for a vaccine update just last week, and had their annual checkup a few months ago.
I don't have a scanner or a fax machine, so I'll ask the vet to e-mail you the records Monday.
Assuming all the records are what you need, I have until the end of the month to bring them there, but if it's a first come first serve basis then I can bring them sooner.
Shelter response:
Rabies and distemper correct vaccines? Okay email works on Monday thank you.
We have several other families looking to surrender so I suggest as soon as I see the medical records we set a date so you are secured. You understand all that belongs to them come with them up to and including their cage? What are you feeding them?
Abbie’s response:
They were already current on rabies and will be until Fall, just had to update their distemper. :)
Yes, I would bring all their bedding, hammocks, food/water dishes, toothbrush/paste, treats etc with them when they came as the site requires. And probably buy more because the site says a month's supply, yes?
They are currently on Marshall ferret food as they were initially when I got them. I switched them to EVO until the pet store here stopped stocking it.
Abbie’s update, March 9, 2015:
This is their complete medical history! Let me know if this is okay.
I would be able to bring them by likely next week or the week after, I just need to find a friend to accompany me to bring them there as I anticipate likely not being in a good emotional state to drive home on my own. What days are best for the shelter?
Shelter response, March 9, 2015:
Okay we are good to go thank you. Okay bringing a friend is wise.
Weekends are easiest on us, I drive school bus during the week so I am in and out all day. If you need a weekday we will have to do it between bus runs. What works for you?
Abbie’s response, March 11, 2015:
I can do this Saturday if it is highly time sensitive or any time you're free between runs next Wednesday which works better for me so I could have someone with me.
Shelter response, March 11, 2015:
We can do Wed. if you can get here between 8:30 am and 1 pm matters not what time as long as it is between those times. It takes roughly 45 min to an hour to finish up paperwork and such. I need to know what time you chose so I can have the shelter settled to spend time with you.
Abbie’s response, March 12, 2015:
Okay, let's say 1PM to be safe? It looks like there might be some snow, but I don't think that will impede travel too much.
Shelter response, March 12, 2015:
Abbie the operative word in my statement was between I must leave for my bus run at 1 pm so you getting here at that time is not going to work.
Abbie’s response:
Oh my mistake! Is noon alright, then?
Shelter response:
Yes better. Thanks.
Shelter response, March 17, 2015:
Confirming the address is 7835 New York 21, Naples, NY 14512, correct?
Packing the girls up now, see you tomorrow!