Ferret Footnotes
Monthly Newsletter of the
Ferret Lovers' Club of Texas

NOVEMBER 1996

CALL OR WRITE TO TIME/LIFE!

FLC-TX member Trish Newsom reports that the Time/Life Marketing Division responds to requests for new materials, and have already shown some initial interest in producing a ferret video. They report that if enough interest is shown, they will proceed with the project, and are interested in your input. So contact Time/Life, and tell them you would like to see a good ferret video, and tell them what you would like to see in it! (800) 621-7026

Time/Life Customer Service
Marketing Office, Alexandria Office
777 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

Contribute to the Rabies Shedding Studies
Save Our Ferrets!

If every ferret owner contributed just a dollar for the rabies shed study, we would have six million dollars and be able to scientifically establish a quarantine period for our ferrets so they will not be needlessly euthanized. Please help by sending what you can and asking your vet, friends, and local pet shops for donations and send them to:

Morris Animal Foundation
Ferret Shed Study
45 Inverness Drive East
Englewood, CO 80112-5480

This is tax deductible.

Ferret Publications Available

Visit your neighborhood PETsMART and get a copy of the new FERRETS USA (featuring an article by our own Trish Curtis) or the December Issue of NATURAL PET, which features ferrets.

Or subscribe to Modern Ferret Magazine. A one-year 6-issue subscription is $24.95. Send your address to Modern Ferret, Dept. F110295, P.O. Box 338, Massapequa Park, NY, 11762, (516) 799-1364, fax (516) 797-4021, Email: modferret@aol.com or http://www.modernferret.com

Emergency Fund for Shelters

The shelters that rescue ferrets, pay for spaying/neutering, surgeries, medications and other needs, and prepare them for adoption (or keep them for life if need be) often operate at a considerable financial loss. The dedicated shelter people give their time and money willingly, but too much of this time is spent raising funds when it could be spent on the ferrets. If you will donate $25.00, the Coupon Division of Dosh and Associates will guarantee in writing that you will save $200 on your grocery purchases when you use the Grocery Certificate Coupon Book. Why Not Try It?

This is how the Grocery Certificate Coupon Book will help you in return. Each book contains twenty (20) $10 certificates that never expire. On the back of each certificate, you select up to 35 items of your choice from the list of over 1,200 Major Name Brand products. You then mail the certificate with a self-addressed, stamped, #10 envelope and $1 to the Coupon Processing address. In 10 15 days, your envelope is returned filled with coupons your chose.

Don't be concerned about the $1 sorting fee! To make up for this fee, D&A;has included two $10.00 bonus certificates to reimburse you for this expense. D&A;will guarantee in writing that you will receive 6 times your donation in savings or they will pay you 3 times what you donated. Ask for your personal copy of the guarantee when you mail in your order.

E-mail Karen Carby or D&A;to receive the Order Form, fill it out and fax or mail it to D&A.; Make checks payable to Dosh and Associates. To use MasterCard or Visa, check the card you will be using, fill in the information and sign the form. If you have any questions about the validity of this program, please e-mail Judith White, ferreton@pond.com

You can share this program with your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. You will help them save on their grocery bill and greatly increase your support of our shelters in the process. Make a copy of your Order Form and share this information. Or buy two books and give one away as a gift.

Dosh and AssociatesVoice: (352) 795-9590
252 N.E. 2nd CourtFax: (352) 795-3266
P.O. Box 1290 E-Mail spdjr@citrus.infi.net
Crystal River, Florida 34423 1-800-743-3674

Karen Carby klcarby@gte.net

HOLIDAY FERRET PROOFING
(by Erika Matulich)

The holidays bring special ferret dangers and ferret-proofing challenges. Let's explore some of these issues in more detail:

Food/Candies
During the holiday season, we may have more candies around the house, hang candy canes on the tree, exhibit decorator bowls of candy, or be given gifts of edible holiday treats. Your ferret may be just as attracted to the taste of chocolate, mint, or sugar as you are, but this is a problem. Ingesting too much chocolate could be fatal to your ferret. Too much sugar can cause serious dental problems. And half-eaten treats embedded in your carpet and furniture are no fun to clean up! Don't be tempted to share your extra holiday treats with your ferrets. Their culture does not know the difference between holidays and celebrating life on an everyday basis, so keep extra treats away from your ferrets! They won't know the difference.

Guests/Parties
The holidays may also bring more people traffic into your home, inviting more opportunities for your ferrets to escape outdoors, be stepped on, or be handled too much. Too many people and too much attention can cause stress for your ferret. Cranky ferrets may behave unexpectedly around your guests and give the wrong impression about what ferrets are like. Protect your ferret family by keeping them quietly in their cage or room when company arrives.

Fireplaces
Oh, those wonderful, crackling holiday fires! Unfortunately, ferrets find fires fascinating, and the burn receptors in their skin take awhile to register pain - enough time for your ferret to become severely burned before s/he figures out the fire was too hot! Never assume that your ferret will back away from the heat of a fire. I have seen several ferrets walk right over hot coals and into flames. Make sure you have glass doors in front of your fireplace, or a very heavyweight fireplace screen that ferrets cannot climb or move. The metal fireplace curtains are not adequate protection for your ferret. Keep your fire and your ferrets supervised!

Mini-Lights
Many of us decorate our homes and trees with lights. Ferrets seem fascinated by these lights, and are especially attracted to flashing lights. Ferrets attack and bite flashing lights, and may chew on other lights. This causes glass embedding problems in their mouths, and the possibility of electrical shock, or even an electrical fire. Some holiday lights have special decorative covers, which the ferrets may steal (I spray mine with bitter apple). Avoid flashing lights, and supervise your ferrets when lights are turned on.

Christmas Trees
Some ferrets may climb up trees, so make sure that the tree will not tip if there is a ferret hanging from a top branch! Do not hang edibles from the tree; they will be stolen. Do not hang breakable or chewable ornaments on lower branches where ferrets can pull them off. I have had ferrets pull or shake down glass ornaments, hide them, break them, and run through the shards! When I replaced the glass ornaments with satin-covered styrofoam, the ferrets shredded off the satin and ate the styrofoam! Now only plastic and metal ornaments hang from lower branches. If you have a live tree, there are additional dangers. Do not let ferrets drink the tree's water! The tannic acid that leaches from the tree into the water can cause anemia and heart problems in ferrets. Tree preservative water additives can be fatal if ingested. You must ferret-proof your tree stand with duct tape, heavy foil, bricks, wire screening, etc. You may also wish to place your tree up on a table, thus eliminating all ferret tree interaction! Ferrets may also get pine pitch/sap stuck in their fur. Remove with a light vegetable oil or linatone/ferretone. As the tree dries out, needles become brittle and can cause injury to a ferret nose, eyes, paws or skin as the sharp needle ends pierce rather than flex.

Gifts
Ferrets like presents too, but they can't read the labels and think all gifts are for them. They may run off with ribbon, shred wrapping paper, or steal smaller boxes to stash away. Consider putting gifts on a ferret-proof table instead of under the tree. Speaking of gifts, FLC-TX has some wonderful gift ideas - on to the next article, now that you have a holiday-ferret-safe home!
Do It Yourself!
Kathy Lucy had several wonderful craft ideas with materials from MJ Designs. Make a ferret ornament by putting your ferret's photo inside a clear ball. Wall baskets can be lined with fleece or rabbit skin (make sure your ferret is not a wicker chewer!). And ferret "fishing rods" can be made with a dowel, string, and toys tied to the end (try fishing floats, bells, or cat balls).


COOL CATALOGS!

FerretWare catalog
(proceeds benefit rescue, education, and legalization in California)
FWARE, PO Box 21040, Castro Valley, CA 94546
1-800-FERRETW

The Crafty Ferret catalog
Distinctive and Hand-Crafted Ferret Products for Humans (Mostly)
Ferret cookie cutters, aprons, clothing, etched glassware, rugs, doormats, books, posters, postcards, custom mousepads, etc.
Donna Austin
1060 Sun Valley Drive, Annapolis, MD 21401
410-626-7707, 410-626-8426 (fax) FerretFan@aol.com

Jeffers Pet Catalog
P.O. Box 948, West Plains, MO 65775-0948
1-800-JEFFERS, 1-800-533-3377, 417-256-1550 (fax)

Little Paws Publishing
POB 35 Califon, NJ 07830 Fax: 908-832-6302
Many unusual ferret t-shirts and other ferret items.

Spike and Friends Collection
Ain't No Creek Ranch, Inc.
2553 West Offner Road
Beecher, IL 60401-3347
708-534-3296, fax: 708-534-3277
Ferret wheels, signs, jello molds, jewelry and hedgehog items


Fun-alia Catalog
Ferret Wise Shelter offers such items as: ACME ferret stamps, Ferret Wise FUN HOUSE, petromalt, the ferret prayer (matted and ready to frame), subscriptions to Ferret Wise "Frolic", and much much more.
To get your copy simply mail a check or money order for $2.00 to:
Ferret Wise "Fun-alia"
P.O. Box 561, Marlborough, NH 03455-0561
You will get a catalog &;Gift Certificate for $2 off your first order.

Ferret Outfitters Catalog
P.O. Box 394, Red Creek, NY 13143
1-800-440-3356, 315-594-6548 (fax)

WONDERFUL WEB SITES!

The Ferret Store From NEEPS
Food, harnesses, leads, and many other items for our little furry friends. Visit the web site below, or email to above for details.
http://www2.epix.net/~neeps

FerretWare on the Web
http://www.ferretware.com

The Ferret Curiosity Shop
Cutting board, bank, and refrigerator magnets.
http://www.ferretcuriosity.on.ca

The From Ferret(TM) Home Page
http://www.tiac.net/users/wyldchld/
- Specializing In Ferret Greeting Cards!
"...cause every occasion should include a ferret!"

Little Paws Publishing
http://www.littlepaw.com
Awesome ferret t-shirts, all pictured on the site.

FERRET OF THE MONTH COVER PHOTO

A sleeping ferret is pictured at snooze on one of the famous FLC-TX hammock bunkbeds, along with a $20 "tip" at the October Ferret Olympics. Photo by Marlene Indermark.

Would you like your ferret to be featured as a cover photo? Send photographs to the editor (see page 2), and with a SASE, they will be returned. Be sure to identify the ferret in the photo, include any pertinent information, and mark the photo with your name and address.

Top 10 ways to tell your ferret has driven you completely insane...
By Anthony & Barbara Thomas

10.You try to start a city-wide boycott against your local hardware store because they don't carry clear dryer hose.
9.You become one of those people who irritate children by handing out raisins at Halloween.
8.You giggle hysterically every time you read the phrase, "Hey, that's not a UPC!" (See page 2 of every Modern Ferret magazine)
7.Your next home improvement project is a sixty level cage.
6.You vote for Clinton because he's more "weaselly-lookin'."
5.You vote for Dole because they are juicier and less expensive than Sun-Maid.
4.You buy a lottery ticket and dreamily contemplate how much ferretone you could buy with 6.8 million dollars.
3.You spend hours trying to carve a ferret face into your jack-o-lantern.
2.When your best friend tells you her boyfriend problems, you suggest the "ferretone on the belly" trick.

And the number one way to tell your ferrets have driven you completely insane:

1.Your major? FERRET MATH!

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