On the evening of Saturday, Jan. 9, 1999, I was outside on the front porch when
a scurrying form dashing off down the sidewalk caught my eye.
My first impression....ferret!!!....was discarded when I recalled that a
young possum had been visiting the kibble bowl on the porch, and was nearly forgotten
after I'd returned inside to find DaBoyz safely asleep in their cage.
Pre-dawn the following Monday morning, the little guy made another appearance....
grabbing a bit of kibble and dashing off with it. His true identity, this time,
was unmistakable.
He led a be-robed and flashlight-equipped Chance on a merry ten or fifteen minute chase
through the ferns until he was finally captured.
Stop the presses...He's a She!
Finally, almost two weeks after taking the little one in,
online ferret FAQ
onscreen and sleepy ferret upside down in lap, it was determined that Boo was a little
girl ("jill" in ferret terms). One ear had also been tattooed with two blue dots,
indicating that she had already been neutered and de-scented.
Of course, Da Boyz had already been through both procedures before they arrived,
so ferret breeding was never an option, but it was a relief to know that Boo didn't
need to be operated upon.
Until Boo has grown larger (she's older than Lindy and Fey were when they arrived,
but she's still quite young....perhaps 3 months old), Da Boyz and she will be kept in
separate cages and will have separate play times. An experiment in allowing them out
together resulted in her being dragged across the floor by the scruff of her neck.
While this seems to be the ferret idea of Great Fun, it looks horrible,
and she's too much smaller to either escape or turn around and reciprocate.
Neko, long since wary in the ways of carpet sharks, finds Boo far less frightening than
Da Boyz. (In fairness to my classic scardey-cat, Da Boyz
have come up with several ways to torment her, including leaping on her and forcing her to
lie on the floor, where they drape themselves over her back.)
With Boo, though, Neko will play hide-and-seek around pieces of furniture, and they
sometimes chase each other across the floor.
For now, they are well-matched....Boo's small and a little timid (for a fert!) and Neko
is relatively relaxed when Boo is out and exploring.
She developed a real relationship, though, with Azad, who was just a kitten when
they first met and who decided that Boo was a wonderful playmate. He was wary of DaBoyz, as
they tended to team up and pester the cats with what seemed to be malice aforethought, but he
quickly learned to recognize which ferret was which and happily wrestled and played
with little Boo.
On June 8, 2004, Boo died of cancer. She was a good friend to Zoddy and a funny, cheerful
presence who will be missed.
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