On Tue, 13 Oct 2015 07:56:43 -0400, Gary > wrote:
wrote:
>>
>> That's the thing and Gary will understand eventually, they need you
>> rather than the reverse. I am sure there are ferrets out there
>> looking desperately for owners.
>
>For sure. Ferrets win your heart immediately with their personalities
>but most people don't realize how much maintenance they require and so
>many try to get rid of them within a short time. Many shelters won't
>even accept ferrets either - other than to kill them within a week.
>SPCA here won't accept them at all.
>
>I just wish they lived longer. I get so attached and then they die. So
>far, one month before age 7 is the longest lived here. Mia will take
>over the "longest lived here" record on November 17. Only 4-5 weeks
>away.
>
>I'm trying to hold off getting new ferrets until I retire. Sad to have
>to cage them for 11 hours a day when I'm working but you really have
>to with those creatures. When Mia was younger, she got into many
>life-threatening situations even when I was home.
Consider making your next pet a cat, they live longer and there's no
need to cage them. I always suggest getting at least two litter
mates, they keep each other company, and it's not so hard on you if
one doesn't live a long life... I've always had five or six (I don't
like to split up a litter), I've never had any that became ill and
passed on anywhere close to each other. It's really no more work
taking care of one cat or six. Cat food is inexpensive, the so called
gourmet food in tiny cans is really more for the owner's ego, cats
can't read the labels and don't care about price... dried food is
prefered for the cat's health anyway. Use canned in small amounts for
a treat, buy the large 14 ounce cans, much more affordable, one can
will feed six cats. Instead of buying those pricey tiny pouches of
treats I feed kitten food at a tenth the price, actually the cats
prefer it to the designated treats. I buy Amazon's cat litter, it's
half the price and better than any other, and it's delivered right to
my door, free shipping... I order three 40 pound bags a month, keeping
litter pans clean is the best way to cut down on Vet bills. There are
lots of Vets that donate their services, they accept a small donation,
phone the local humane society to get hooked up... here I was referred
to Animal Kind, excellent service at very low cost, they only do cats,
ferals and strays:
http://www.animalkind.info/