Ferret Footnotes

Monthly Newsletter of the
Ferret Lovers' Club of Texas

"Socks Steals a Steak Knife"

MARCH 1997

FERRET OWNED SURVEY SUMMARY as of 3/97

Some of the results of the STAR*Ferrets Survey are as follows, based on 1387 ferrets:

Ferret Statistics

Average ferrets per home: 4.5
Male ferrets: 51 %
Female ferrets: 49 %
Sables: 50 %
Silvers or mitts: 19 %
Albinos: 11 %
Patterns: 5.5 %
Specialty Colors: 16.5 %

Where was first ferret obtained?
Pet shop: 62 %
Shelter: 11 %
Breeder/Other: 28 %
Where was third ferret obtained?
Pet shop: 36 %
Shelter: 33 %
Breeder/Other: 31 %
Where was fifth ferret obtained?
Pet shop: 25 %
Shelter: 41 %
Breeder/Other: 34 %

48% of owners has had a ferret pass away; 83% of these ferrets were seen by a veterinarian.

Ferret Owner Statistics

84% of respondents were female, 56% were married, and most (52%) live in suburbs. 49% hold college degrees, and 48% make over $30,000 annually, not including significant other's income. 65% own their own residences. 63% belong to ferret clubs, 75% subscribe to a ferret newsletter or magazine. The average age of respondents was 36.44, and white collar jobs dominate.

FERRET SUPPLEMENTS &;TREATS
March Meeting Topic

This month's meeting topic was on treats and supplements. We would like to thank Dr. Jerry Murray for attending the meeting and answering lots of questions. Before reading further, remember that a ferret with a well-balanced diet of high quality ferret food does not really need treats, and supplements sparingly, if at all.

SUPPLEMENTS
Many of the supplements listed below are available at pet retailers such as PetCo or PetSmart. Alternatively, you can order from discount catalogs such as KV Vet Supply (1-800-423-8211) or Jeffers (1-800-JEFFERS).

Oils and Vitamins for Every Day
The most popular daily supplements appear to be Linatone, Ferretone, and Sun Drops. These are oil-based supplements that ferrets love, and are a great aid for training rewards, distraction while nail clipping or ear cleaning, or as a treat. These supplements provide Essential Fatty Acids, which are important for digestion, a shiny fur coat, and healthy skin. However, it is extremely important to note that the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are stored, and not eliminated through the urine. This means that you can easily overdose your ferret, especially with vitamin A. (For an excellent article on Vitamin A toxicity, see LIFE's Independent Voice Oct/Nov 96 Issue). Ferrets can handle about 600 IU of vitamin A per day, so do not follow the dosages (usually cat or dog anyway) on these products. On a per teaspoon basis, Linatone has 1500 IU, Ferretone has about 1300 IU, and Sun Drops has 21,000 IU!! I would not recommend Sun Drops as a supplement, although it is a better source of B vitamins than the other choices. A recommended guideline is about 3-5 drops per day of Linatone or Ferretone, and no more than 10 drops (for those nail clipping days!). Remember that ferret food also has vitamin A in it.

I have a rescue ferret (Compton) who was fed one tablespoon of Ferretone each day for 4 years. He is suffering permanent damage from Vitamin A toxicity -- extremely thin hair, sore joints, overproduction of sebum, and dry and itching skin. Other symptoms of toxicity include swelling over long bones, nausea, diarrhea, brittle bones, restlessness, and reproductive problems (birth defects and spontaneous abortions).

Some folks "thin out" the commercial products with olive oil, which is less expensive, and does not appear to have as much Vitamin A. Remember that whatever oil you are using, whether a commercial animal product or vegetable oil from the store, oils go rancid. Rancid oils change their chemical composition and can become toxic, resulting in digestive problems and possible liver problems. Oils should be stored away from light and heat. Keep your oil supplements in a dark container in the refrigerator, and discard after 6 months. If not refrigerated, discard after 3 months.

Other Nutritional Supplements
Popular nutritional supplements include Ferretvite, Vitasol, and Nutrical. These are highly palatable, high-energy supplements. Nutrical is useful for ferrets who are not eating well or recovering from illness. Recommended dosages are about a 1/2 inch bead of paste. Vitasol is a good source of B vitamins, which can stimulate appetite in an ill ferret. B-vitamins are water soluble; excess amounts will be eliminated from the body. Again, it is important to check the Vitamin A content on all these supplements to avoid toxicity. Again, these vitamins are good for ill or recovering ferrets, and not for everyday use. For very sick ferrets, Shelter Operator Trish Curtis has been using Envirotech vitamins with great success for ill ferrets.

Some folks use brewers yeast. This powder comes with or without garlic. The garlic is advertised to repel fleas, but Dr. Murray has never seen any evidence of that, and your ferret probably won't like the garlic. Brewers yeast is full of water soluble B-vitamins, so no toxicity can occur. It can help temperament, skin, and coat, and is particularly recommended for ferrets with insulinoma.

Preventing Hairball
Ferrets shed twice a year, and can ingest hairs throughout the year while playing or grooming. Hair is not digestible, and can begin to collect in the digestive tract. Early indications of hairball may be coughing, slow digestion, smaller "poops," and vomiting. Infections can also form around the hairball. As hair continues to accumulate, the hairball can cause a blockage that must be surgically removed immediately. Extreme lethargy, diarrhea, vomiting, and inability to eat indicate a quick trip to the vet. Hairballs do not show up on x-rays unless barium has been used. The vet may or may not be able to feel the hairball. In any case, left untreated, hairball can be fatal.

To prevent hairball, there are several supplements that allow hairs to pass through the system. These include Laxatone, Laxastat, and Petromalt. These can be given 2-4 times per month in the nonshedding season, and twice per week during the shedding periods. These supplements contain a lot of sugar, so remember to brush your ferret's teeth afterwards. Recommended dosages are a 1/2 inch to 1 inch ribbon of paste; more will cause diarrhea.

TREATS
The important thing to remember about treats is that they should be offered sparingly, as you do not want treats to replace a diet of healthy ferret food. Most of the treats that ferrets like are not very good for them; they are either high in sugar, or high in indigestible fibers. Remember that ferrets cannot digest fruit, vegetable, or grain fibers; these just make ferrets think they are full, but no nutrition is being gained. If feeding sugary supplements in the form of fruits or commercial treats, remember to brush your ferret's teeth!

Commercially Available Treats
We evaluated a number of commercial treats made specifically for ferrets (and some for cats). It is very important to read the labels of these treats; most contained sugar as their primary ingredient, along with corn, wheat, or other indigestible high fiber fillers. Worse, many contained milk products, such as dried or powdered whey, which can make ferrets sick. There were also lots of potentially toxic preservatives. Finally, many contained animal waste byproducts to boost protein levels. Of the ten commercial treats we evaluated, Marshall's Bandits were by far the best. They key is to read the nutrition information on the labels, not the advertising hype. And don't rely on your ferret for an opinion; ferrets love unhealthy things as much as human kids do!

Treats around the House
We feed our ferrets a variety of other treats. The most popular category tended to be fruits. Dried fruits included raisins, dates, dried cranberries, and dried pineapple. Fresh fruits included apples, grapes, bananas, oranges, cherries, melons, peaches, and pears. Fewer ferrets ate vegetables, but these included mushrooms, potatoes, beans, squash, cauliflower, carrots, salsa (!), and broccoli. Another good treat for ferrets is cooked meat . Try skinless chicken breast, or a lunchmeat without sodium nitrates. Baby food (with no additional spices or flavorings) are good, especially chicken and turkey. Trish recommends a Chicken-Banana baby food. Ferrets will also often treat themselves to crickets or other insects that get into the house. Other grain-based treats include dog-biscuits (can help clean teeth) and cereals such as Cheerios or Kix, which are lower in sugar.

Treats to Avoid
There are a number of treats which are potentially dangerous. Apple and grape skins, as well as cherry pits, can cause blockages. Raw meats contain parasites, and should never be fed. Raw eggs should also be avoided because of salmonella; well-cooked eggs are fine. Sodas, especially colas, should be avoided because the sugar and acid combination can literally dissolve ferret teeth. Chocolate should be avoided; some ferrets react badly to chocolates and can die of toxicity. Dairy products (ice cream, cheeses, milk) should also be avoided as they cause severe digestive upsets. Onions are also a potential source of toxicity. Sugar-coated cereals, marshmallows, or candies have concentrations of sugar that can throw blood sugar levels awry and cause tooth damage. Also avoid treats that have preservatives or sodium nitrates.


FERRET OF THE MONTH COVER PHOTO

The Ferret of the Month Cover photo features Socks the wonder ferret (aka "Mack the Knife") absconding with yet another lethal steak knife so he can cruise the house, armed and dangerous! Socks owns club president Erika Matulich, and steals only knives, and the occasional spatula. Socks notes that wooden-handled knives are the best.

Would you like your ferret to be featured as a cover photo? Or published in the new handbook? 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.

A Ferret Easter Story
copyright 1997, Michael J. Schieman

Josh snuffled and sneezed as the annoyance of his dream began to filter into the conscious part of his sleeping mind. His left hind paw began to twitch and claw at an imagined itch - an itch that taunted him, eluded him, mocked his efforts to relieve it. He tried to envision the source of this irritation, real or imagined; but could not.

"I'm asleep!" A part him cried out. "I'm only dreaming. These visions that my dreams are showing to me could not ever possibly be."

Deep within the sleeping ferret's mind, Josh knew that these things which disturbed his sleep would soon come to pass. His frantic efforts to scratch them away launched a small stone from its sandy sanctuary, launched it into the air. The smooth river pebble glistened for the briefest of moments in the clear moonlight that bathed the camp of the travellers before falling, unnoticed, a few inches away from the Master's right knee. The stone made a tiny poofing sound as it settled, once again, into the timeless sands of this place that was no place in particular.

As a soft, cooling breeze spread its continuing relief to the parched desert land that sheltered the travellers that night, made the whiskers of the men's beards dance, and gave what seemed to be a life of its own to Josh's thick fur, a tiny twig gave its all to the campfire - gave up its perch upon the top log - and fell with a soft crackle into the waiting embers below.

This tiniest of sounds roused Josh from his troubled sleep. The ferret yawned his best yawn, began to stretch his most satisfying stretch, when the memory of his dreams flooded into his waking mind. Instinctively, he began to try to scratch away the troubling images that his dreams had left behind. He came to complete wakefulness when he realized that this was an itch that could never be scratched.

"Oh, Master," Josh sighed as he laid his head into Jesus' sleeping and outstretched hand. "I was there when You were born. Such a wonderful day of love and hope had never existed before. Please tell me that the things I see in my dreams will never happen."

As the frightened ferret watched, he saw the faint traces of a smile begin to form on his Master's sleeping lips. He felt the calmness of gentle fingers as they caressed his trembling body.

"Peace, be still, my little friend," came Jesus' voice as it soothed itself into Josh's mind. "These things that you see will happen, as happen they must if I'm to be believed by men. Be comforted by the knowledge of the good things that might happen after the things that trouble you now."

Upon hearing this, Josh fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

The warming rays of the morning sun were still hours away from the barren eastern horizon when Josh was awakened by the soft sounds of quiet sobbing.

It took him three yawns and two-and-a-half stretches before he could focus on the source of the sound. Even after all of that, he almost missed seeing the figure of his Master as Jesus huddled close to the dying embers of the campfire, lost in some private misery.

"His heart is breaking," the small and sometimes bad ferret thought as he climbed up Jesus' desert stained robe, settled into His lap and gazed into the grief-stricken face of his life-long Friend and Master.

"If only I could do something to cheer Him up - to ease His pain," Josh prayed as he gazed into the tortured face of the Man Who was much more than a man. "If only...."

As if in answer to his prayer, Josh watched as a tear trickled down Jesus' cheek, fought its way through the tangle of His beard, and splashed with a tiny noise into the dusty sand not far from the ferret's left hind foot - which, in his haste, he had left dangling dangerously close to the last, small flame of the dying fire. Had the tear not fallen where it did, Josh would have been badly burned by the lingering flame.

Without really knowing why, Josh stretched out to the full length of his sinuous body and caught the next tear on the tip of his tongue. He recoiled at the pain, the despair of its taste. Then he noticed the sweetness of it as it rolled into his mouth, caught in his throat, filled his soul. Visions of other times and other places flooded into his mind. The baptism of that single tear brought a simple peace to his soul.

"You are the One," Josh said as he gazed with newfound understanding into the face of the weeping Jesus.

"Yes, little one," Jesus replied as a final tear rolled down His cheek. "I am Who you need Me to be. Others will see me with different eyes - will call Me by many different names; but I will always be what they need Me to be. Neither what men call Me, nor how they pray to our Father will matter much - as long as they find what you and I have found here tonight. Now we must face a temporary sorrow - a time of testing and of pain. Stay with me."

Josh was puzzled, troubled for a moment. He couldn't forget the pain of his Friend's tears. Then he understood.

The next several days passed in a blur of constant travel through blistering heat and choking dust, interspersed with the brief coolness of cloudless nights. Josh liked the nights the best of all. He, Jesus and their small band of followers shared their meals, talked of the day's events, told stories and slept together in the ebony coolness of the night, warmed by the security of their small campfires and by the love they had come to have for each other.

Josh could sense that something very important was going to happen soon. The crowds that followed the tiny band grew larger with every passing day. Many of the men who had followed Jesus since the beginning of His journey, Judas in particular, became ill and gruff with the growing crowds - begged Jesus to send them away. Jesus never did. Instead, He welcomed everyone who came to Him, no matter what their reason for doing so. Many wondrous things happened as the small, but growing band passed through the villages that nestled near to the infrequent oases that lined the way, ever nearer to Jerusalem, the Holy City.

As they neared the city's gates, with a throng of thousands following their every step, Josh felt every hair in his thick coat begin to bristle as if it had been struck by lightning. He was terrified and did not know why.

"Stop Master!" the small ferret cried as they entered the town. "Something very bad will happen here. I know it will. Please, Jesus, let's just go back to Bethlehem and visit your parents. This is a bad place. Please, Lord! Let's, let's...."

The milling crowd began to laugh at the sight of the tiny ferret as he bounced and cavorted at the Prophet's feet, emitting sounds that only other ferrets or the gods could understand. Most of the people had followed the travellers in search of the something special that Jesus' words and deeds had promised. Others were merely curious, looking for an entertainment or a diversion. Josh's antics, as he danced, chittered, and flipped around provided satisfaction to those who did not understand what was about to happen, nor how it would affect them.

Jesus ignored the Hosanna's of most, the jeers of a few, as He bent down and caught the wildly dancing, loudly protesting ferret in the calloused, yet soft right hand of a carpenter and Savior.

"Peace, be still," Jesus whispered as He cradled the struggling, still shrieking ferret close to His heart. "This dread that you feel is real enough. Terrible things will happen to Me in the next few days to come, but they must be. They have nothing to do with you or with those who are like you. You have no need of what I must do now. Indeed, the need to give the gift I am about to give was taught to Me by those of your kind. These others, both those who praise Me and those who jeer Me have much need of it. So, Little One. Stay here and wait for Me until I return. I won't be long."

An exhausted shudder passed through Josh's soul as he felt himself being gently lowered into the cool shadow of the front window of a small house. A very deep sorrow almost succeeded in overwhelming the natural joy that dwelt in his heart. His tail drooped, his whole being drooped as he watched his life-long Friend and Master mount a small donkey and ride into the city on a sea of palm branches.

"Hosanna!" he heard the throng cry. "Hosanna!" his mind repeated to itself. "If they only knew what they were saying - what they really meant." Josh lay there in the cool shadow of the window sill, his nose and whiskers becoming one with the dust that was caked there, feeling the hopes of his dreams, despairing in the loss that he felt - praying that his dreams were true.

"Oh, Mommy!" he heard as his grief was interrupted. "Look, Mommy. There's a ferret on our window ledge. He's so cute and cuddly looking. May I keep him, please?"

Hester whirled in anger and threw down the clay bowl that she was trying to cleanse of the remnants of last night's stew. "That's just what we need! Another one of your useless pets to eat our food and mess up my house."

Josh was about to run for cover when he found his eyes locked with those of Miriam's mother. Miriam cowered in expectation of the thrashing that she knew would come.

"Uh, yes, Miriam." Hester found herself saying as she gazed into the joy and hope of the ferret's small eyes. "You may keep him, but only for a little while. I have a feeling that his real Owner will be back for him very soon."

Josh felt the love and comfort of two pairs of hands - one young and soft, one old and blistered by the cares of life - as they lifted him from his window perch and placed him upon a blanket of soft lamb's wool.

"Yes, my new friends," Josh thought as he drifted into a peaceful sleep. My Master will come back for me. He'll come back for you too. He's always been here with us. Always will be."

Josh slept. He dreamed of his God and of His gifts. He dreamed of the ferrets who had lived before him. He dreamed of many good things, of a Love that could not be defined nor measured. He dreamed of things to come.

The end? No, not really. It's up to us.

Joy to the World!

Happy Easter!

Paw Paw


March Business Meeting Minutes

Legal Issues
Michael Woodard will begin working with the city of Denton to get ferrets legalized there. We have also found out that Allen considers ferrets illegal because they do not recognize a rabies vaccine. To help with the legal effort, please obtain a copy of your city's animal code. Remember to get the complete code, not just parts referring to ferrets. Our legal task force, headed up by Debra Thomason, has decided to produce a set of modules to send to city councils, based on the primary "fear factor" issues. These include (1) Domesticity, (2) Biting, (3) Rabies Vector, and (4) Breeding Issues. One day per month needs to be devoted to these items. Tracy Kitts, a legal secretary, has volunteered to retype important documents and obtain city codes. Thanks, Tracy! Fort Worth City Council is being elected in May; now is a good time to probe about their ferret feelings.

Arlington Breeder
The problem breeder in Arlington is still being worked on. All six remaining ferrets were purchased from the main warehouse facility, spayed/neutered, inoculated, and placed with club members Larry Fewell, Erika Matulich, and Nathan &;Heather Viles. Kathy Lucy purchased two possibly pregnant females from the satellite facility. Kathy Lucy and Blanca Martinez obtained access to the breeding area, and although conditions were filthy and smelly, no animal control codes were being violated, technically. We still plan to confront the breeder and hope for education and cooperation.

Shelter, Breeder, Reseller Inspections
We have four member shelters (Weatherford, Plano, Houston/League City, Point Neches), one member breeder (Tenaha), and one member reseller (Fort Worth). Each of these needs to be inspected twice per year, and file paperwork with the club. We need volunteers to do inspections at these facilities!

Gabriel Update
Gabriel, the ferret with the severe spinal cord injury in New Hampshire has seen great improvement!!! One back leg can scratch an ear, now. Gabriel received almost $500 toward his veterinary bills in a nationwide fundraising campaign. He is now receiving water therapy. Thanks to all FLC-TX folks who contributed.

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