A Big Relief, but Baby Still Got Back

I had to take Stimpy to the vet yesterday.  For those who haven't been following  my blog, Stimpy's one of my two ferrets, and he's just the biggest sweetheart in the world.  There's never been a more gentle creature.  The problem is, he's been experiencing nausea for some time now.  I've been trying for the last year to narrow down the cause, seeing as even a vet has difficulty with something like this in ferrets.  It can be anything from a food sensitivity to cancer.

The upshot is, she didn't seem to think it was an emergency, although there are some tests now that need to be done, seeing as I've already ruled out a large number of things on my own.  (Anyone with ferret experience can tell you "ferret-parents" often have to do this to some extent.)  The vet could feel an enlargement, which is either near his kidney, or it is his kidney.  If it's the kidney, he may have an infection that's pretty easily dealt with.  If it's something else, that means there's a mass there that's pushing the kidney out of position.  I'm really hoping it's the former.  A lump on the back end is never a good thing.  He has a hump, a hump, a lovely lady lump...or not so lovely.

I also need to take my other ferret in to have him neutered, as there have been complaints about his pungent aroma from neighbours in my building - the same neighbours who are poisoning us with cigarette smoke, mind you.  Between Stimpy's check-up, Pepper's check-up, and then Pepper's surgery, we're talking about $500.  The additional testing for Stimpy is almost $400, so this means things have to be spread out a bit in order for me to pay for everything.  The fact that the vet said it might be best to concentrate on getting Pepper fixed gives me hope, though.  If she thought it was urgent with Stimpy, she wouldn't have been likely to say that.

People complain all the time about the cost of vet bills, and considering the fact that I live on disability maybe I should be one of them, but actually I fully understand.  It's harder to get into vet school than it is medical school.  The reason?  Well, a vet needs to know the anatomy wide range of species, and understand the varying conditions of such.  Even the different dog breeds vary drastically with respect to their anatomy.  You can't tell me a wiener dog has everything in the same configuration as a Great Dane - they may be the same parts, but the size and placement won't be the same.  Different species mean different parts altogether in some cases.

Vets deal with cats, dogs, ferrets, turtles, lizards, snakes, parrots, horses, chickens, cows, goats, gerbils, etc.  Granted, vets will usually pick a couple of key species and stick with them as their specialty.  Not every vet will know how to treat a ferret or have any experience with them.  There's simply too much to know.  It's up to the ferret's caregiver (such as myself) to find a good vet that works specifically with ferrets.

You may have noticed that I don't use the term pet-owner or ferret-owner.  I really do not feel I own them.  They're a family member that I'm responsible for, much like a parent is responsible for a child, and parents do not own their children.  They may think they do, but they find out very quickly that they don't - somewhere around the age of thirteen in most cases.  So, instead of 'owner' I try to find other words for it that fit better.

People in the ferret community use the term "ferrent", which is basically ferret-parent mushed together.  The problem with that term is that it's not used by the general public, so nobody would know what I was talking about.  Kind of like the term ferret-proofing.  If I say that to a...um...civilian, they laugh at me.  However, it is a very real term.  Parents have to child-proof their homes.  "Ferrents" have to ferret-proof, and it's actually a lot more work than child-proofing.  An inquisitive toddler has nothing on a 2-pound ferret that can get through a one-inch hole.  I know what I'm talking about, as I've had both in my life.

Ferrets are very strong for their size, they have claws designed for digging, and they're probably the most persistent creature I've ever met.  Their teeth can tear apart raw meat, which means wire insulation doesn't stand a chance if they decide they want to have a nosh.  Carpet fibres are easily shredded, and a closed door is like a digging invitation for them.  Now you're probably wondering why I would even have them in my home.  People have cats, don't they?  At least my ferrets haven't destroyed a sofa lately.

Chair mats used in offices easily protect carpets near doorways, or if you have properly finished hardwood, ceramic tile, stone or linoleum floors their claws don't get very far.  My ferrets have no real interest in wires, although sometimes Pepper will grab the end of one in his mouth and try to run away with it, whether the other end is attached to something or not.  I hear everything they do, though, so I see it happen.  It's one of the reasons they make me laugh so much.

In order to survive with their sanity intact (not to mention protect their ferrets), "ferrents" usually cage their ferrets, particularly when they won't be supervised.  I agree with this for most people, actually.  The cages are large and meant specifically for ferrets.  I don't have a cage anymore, because I don't need one.  I'm always home.  If I have to go out, either my daughter is home, or they're put in my bedroom for their own safety.  There is nothing they can do in there that will hurt them, except maybe fall off my bed, but it sits directly on the floor so it's not very high.  They can catch their claws on things, especially if they're split for some reason, which might break a toe or a leg, but there's really only so much you can do to protect an animal from their own exuberance.

This is what I meant in a previous blog entry when I said I can't stop talking about them once I get started.  I opened the floodgates, though, and here we are.  Far too many paragraphs about something that should have been a quick note about the results of Stimpy's vet visit.  What can I say?  It's an addiction I have no interest in curing at this time.  They just make me too damn happy.