Slinky was our most recent addition to our home.  We got him as a weak, blind and much neglected ferret.  October called Jackie, who called me.  Jackie knew before she called me at work that once the details were known, I would say yes.  Of course, I did. I hate being so predictable. 

           We went and got our little Slinky at the first Saturday we could. He was frail, and listless.  His nails were horrible, and some of his toes looked like they had been broken and had been allowed to heal badly.  He lacked hair, and was so fragile I was afraid his little bones would shatter if I did not handle him as carefully as possible.  We got him home and let our Fizzy welcome him. She is quite the good time girl and welcomes new ferrets with fervor. We soon developed a routine with Slink.  When it was time for play, we would put a food bowl out and orient him to that spot. That way, he would just follow his nose to the food, and the cage if he so desired.

After a few weeks, after much spoilage, he developed one heck of a belly, and a nice coat.  We still had to keep the routine, as his eyesight seemed to just get worse.  Still, we fussed and

fretted and spoiled him as much as we do the other ferrets.  He gets out, and when he goes back in the cage, he likes to cuddle up, usually with Bear.

He is an old ferret, and after a few minor dramas that went nowhere, we figured it would be a good time to take Slinky in for a check-up at the vet.  Mistake!

He passed his exam with flying colors, but the experience did something to him.  He was fine at home, though a little nervy and skittish. The next morning, though, we noticed he had stopped eating, and had grown listless.  He staggered a lot, and his head was always cocked sharply to one side.  He seemed to develop hemorrhoids, as he was having difficulty evacuating an empty system.  When Jackie held him now, he would just go to sleep.  He never did that before, there was too much house to explore, but now he seemed to cling to us, the ferrets, anything in the house.  We worried the whole first day.  We fed him Ferret-vite, and ferret-tone as he would eat noting on his own.  The second day brought even greater worry.  He still wasn’t eating, and he was now having severe difficulty moving bowel.  We recognized that he needed to have some food in his belly.  Jackie made duck soup and fed him several times a day.  The other regimen continued with some tiny bit of laxative.  The idea was to get him fed, but keep stuff moving through him so his bowels wouldn’t be so upset at having nothing to move.

This went on from Friday through Sunday.  We developed a theory on what was freaking our Slinky out.  He got sick after his visit to the vet.  Much as he seemed to degrade, we determined the vet was the last place for him.  If he died, he would die with us, the happiest situation he had been in. We knew he had been neglected and surmised that he was feeling extreme worry that after his high times with us, he was going to be losing us.  His little psyche couldn’t handle that rejection, so he began shutting himself down.  We became desperate to show him he was here to stay, so we both took the time to give some extra aid and comfort to him.  Now he slept a lot on us, and we made sure he had ferrets with him when he slept.  It seemed to work. By Tuesday, he was eating his food, and his poopie was looking nice and healthy.  His tilt was going away, and he seemed to not want quite so much attention, though he still wanted lots.  He roams a bit, but sleeps only with other ferrets. 

As time goes, he prefers the feel of tile under his paws, so we let him roam the kitchen. He is happy. 

What horror in life had he suffered before he found his way to October, then us.  To be so terrified of change that he would try to will himself to die.  Fortunately October will let us foster him till his final days.  We will make those last days the best of his little life.

By Steve & Jackie