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Readers' Column
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Mungo's Goodie Buffet
Support a local shelter!
This is a PVC, double-sided hammock with three bowls for all your ferret's goodie needs! Hammocks are removable and machine washable. Patterns vary depending on male or female preference or neutral. This is a great product for multiple ferrets! This item is $35 which includes shipping. Offered by Angel Ferret Shelter. If interested please respond to Angelferet@aol.com
Donna Carlsen
Angel Ferret Shelter Services |
Leftover Medications Offered
Hello,I have some prednisone and proglycem (very expensive) medications that i had left over from when my ferret Apollo had an insulinoma. He has now passed on, but i would like to donate these meds as i now know that insulinoma in ferrets is very common and that these medications are very pricey.
please let me know if i can donate and where to send them.
Sincerely,
Tara P
A Plea For Help
Like so many others, my life has taken a major downturn in the face of an economic crisis as well as my own personal hardship during my journey to living a free and safe life.
My ferrets are my joie de vivre. Their safety is my number one priority, and because of recent events, they are no longer safe here. An angry, DFG threatening ex-boyfriend as well as being laid off from my job have compromised their well-being in my home.
They need someone who is experienced with ferrets, and preferably someone who already has a ferret (or two...!), because they absolutely adore other ferrets. I do have a ferret nation cage that can go with them, as long as all their toys and litter and whatnot.
As a precaution, I am going to ask for an adoption fee of $150 for them both (without the cage). Half of that will be donated to CLIFFNotes for the EIR. If you'd like the cage, you're going to have to pick it up, and I'm also asking for another $150 for it. That's half price of a brand spanking new one....as a small animal owner for almost ten years, this is the highest quality cage I've ever owned. My kids love it. One male, one female, sable ferrets. I have lots of pictures, so please feel free to email me for them. I live in Southern California and I am willing to drive them at least partway to the right home. If you are that home, please, get in touch. Thanks, S.G.
(Please click on the initials above to email S.G. directly)
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Environmental Impact Report
- So Far, On Time & Under Budget!
The work being done on our behalf by Dr Geo Graening and Sacramento State University is so far on time and under budget.
If you are new to CLIFFNotes, Dr Graening and team are doing an official study titled "Ferret Survey of North American Governmental Agencies Research Project." The goal is to see if any state or Canadian province will report any negative impact from having domestic ferrets. California is the only major entity where domestic ferrets are illegal. There are a few other locations, like New York City where such idiotic laws still persist.
In addition, the research tackles the issue of a literature review. The California Department of Health Services, Dept of Agriculture and Dept. of Fish and Game have been publishing official reports for decades about how dangerous our pets are. Now is the time for an unbiased report on those reports - are they credible?
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Not sure how a ferret would eat such an egg, come to think of it I've never seen ferrets interested chicken eggs. But facts don't get in the way of anti-ferret hysteria propagated by State entities.
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I'm afraid - and I hope the answer will continue to be a very boring "ferrets pose no risk." Things could be spiced up if (as they did in the past) Alaska reports breeding domestic ferrets in the middle of winter no less - without any documentation. Or the ferret in Massachusetts who decimated a tern population (turns out a researcher took his pet ferret with him on outings, no terns were hurt, everyone else had a good time.) We also had reports of ferrets in Tehema County eating someone's ostrich egg's. (that would be a trick, look at the size of an ostrich egg)
The bad news is, it will make for dull future issues of CLIFFNotes - 3rd Qtr EIR report in - no impact from ferrets, followed by the something very similar for the 4th report due afterwards.
- But don't fall asleep. When we're done, that's when the fun should start. In six months, we should be filing the official EIR and all this research will be presented. What are the opponents of ferret legalization going to say when presented with unbiased research supporting our position. They've had a bad enough time with the lack of any documented damage from ferrets.
Finances Are Good As We Get Billed for the EIR
It has always been scary to make financial obligations when we have no predictable income. But financially, we are okay as another bill in the amount of $2,895.75 arrives in regards to this quarter's EIR study.
Marshall Ferrets has committed to pay half the cost of the pre-EIR Study. So everyone who supports ferret legalization should realize it couldn't and likely wouldn't happen with the support of Marshall Ferrets. Marshall Ferrets stepped up early and helped us. I would have been afraid to make these commitments without their support.
Ferret Depot also stepped in with a generous contribution. So this week I will place my order at Ferret Depot for Marshall Food which everyone loves and is doing well on, plus we need a new tube and a glass Lixit bottle - and who knows what else.
The same day the bill came for the EIR, a commission check came from Wysong for $702. These commissions are coming from people who buy Wysong foods using the link we provide in this newsletter and on our web pages. Wysong also threw in $300 to help us at the upcoming OC Pet Expo.
My baby ferret Bailey seems to have taken to Wysong. We're using the Archetypal 1 from Wysong.
Martini, our cat, also helps out with ferret legalization by eating Wysong cat food. She reports back that she likes it, alot.
And We Only Sold One T-shirt Last Week
Last week's CLIFFNotes unveiled our "Ferrets Are More Fun" T-shirt in a feminine t-shirt style. Our last survey taught us that men's t-shirts aren't all that popular - so much for the unisex look. So here it is.
I was able to get a small number made so we didn't break the bank. They will also be for sale at the upcoming Ferret Round Up and in our Northern California event in September we are still planning. If sales pick up I'll reprint the "Ferret Legalization Isn't Rocket Science" design as well.
Order Here - thank you for supporting ferret legalization!
2010 Ferrets Anonymous Round Up Info:
When: Saturday, March 20, 2010
Where: Brea, CA
Location: Brea Veterans Club
Address: 735 South Brea Blvd., Brea, CA 92821-5310
Veterans' Club Tel: (714) 529-4874
Time: 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
All Ferrets Anonymous members are invited to attend Round Up. If you have an interest in joining Ferrets Anonymous, you are also welcome to attend.
The Annual meeting of FA includes:
2010 FA Officer Elections
Sales tables - offering wonderful products for sale
Raffles - benefiting FA
Guest Speakers - to further educate our members
Potluck Luncheon
& More!
Entry Fee: $10/person
Table Hosting Fee: $25/table
We're looking for interesting speakers for the event. Would you like to donate your time to educate the attendees of this year's Round Up? Please contact Lance M. at (949) 303-8481 for more information.
If you'd like to host a sales table at Round Up, we'll need to know so we can reserve your space ASAP.
Weight Management On Older Ferrets:
 Note - Please remember that you are able to submit questions directly to Marshall Ferrets regarding ferret health, behavior and nutrition. I submitted a question on "how do you keep weight on your senior weasel?" because of my Quito. Quito is so spry and wirey, but he has no reserve fat. Here is Marshall's answer.
Ferrets are engaging and entertaining pets that retain their clown-like antics well in to their mature years. Caring for them properly into old age will help to maintain their healthy and active lifestyle.
All ferrets require a diet that is between 30%-40% protein and 17%-20% fat. It is very important that this protein and fat content is from an animal source. Some cat diets and even some ferret specific diets use plant sources which provide inadequate nutrition. As your ferret ages and is no longer quite as active as he or she once was, their nutritional requirements move to the lower end of the percentages above. There are even some great “senior” specific ferret diets that are designed with the nutritional requirements of older ferrets in mind.
If your ferret is having trouble keeping weight on or has a reduced appetite as they age, consider supplementing your ferret with vitamin pastes several times a week to provide some additional calories. In addition to the calorie intake, your ferret will also gain the advantage of an increase in water-soluble vitamins such as thiamine. These water-soluble vitamins are not stored in your ferret’s body and can become further depleted in a ferret with reduced appetite.
One of the most common issues in older ferrets is that they can develop dental disease. Unfortunately for ferrets they can’t get fitted for a new set of dentures like Grandpa can! Providing a gruel (soft food) mix by combining dry ferret kibble diet with warm water until it becomes a “soupy oatmeal” consistency is a good way to encourage your ferret to eat. If your ferret is still a little finicky, the addition of some chicken or beef baby food as well as a variety of different “Duck Soup” recipes may help to entice. Of course regular visits to your vet with check-ups on dental health can help to prevent these issues.
We hope this helps to give some of the elderly ferret parents some ideas for appetite stimulation and weight gain no matter the ailment. Keep those ferrets fat and happy in their retirement years… But not too fat!
As always, for any immediate or emergency health concerns contact your veterinarian immediately.
 Further Note - I'm surprised they didn't mention their own Duck Soup Recipe. I make a batch every night for Quito and he loves it. Plus when Fausto has an episode of heliobacter infection and needs more calories and liquids, I make a very watery batch and hide his flagyl and that pink antibiotic that previously went all over the walls when I tried to give it to him.
In Conclusion
I didn't get any offers of help on our "Test Your Ferret Knowledge" quiz so I have hired a professional freelance copywriter to finish writing it, and we'll have Heidi, our very professional graphic artist typeset it. We need this flyer for the upcoming Southern California Pet Expo and a slightly different version for candidates in the upcoming elections. We need to make friends with the next batch of people sitting in the California state senate and assembly. Next year we may need them to push legalization into reality. In 2008 a lot of candidates said they would wait for the results of the EIR, and at least the research stage will be done before the election.
We have people looking for a location for a ferret event in September for Northern California. Ideal date is September 25th and ideal location is Walnut Creek. If you have any ideas please pass them on! It could be quite an event as the EIR excitement should be quite high by that time.
Which brings me to another point. There has been very few news articles about California ferrets lately. A Google search on "California Ferret Legalization" shows this chart:
Odd that we are being overlooked as we achieve our greatest success since Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed our ferret amnesty bill. Hopefully that will change in the months ahead.
Thank you for supporting our efforts and I look forward to continued success at last - at getting these little guys legalized. Mine want to go for a walk!
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