Go Back   :::.Nissan 4x4 Owners Club.::: > General > The Clubs Virtual Pub

The Clubs Virtual Pub For general chat, so come on in and pull up a chair.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 23-10-2018, 00:22   #1
Lazy-Ferret
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Sevenoaks, Kent
Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring
Posts: 5,221
Default Life here is having lows and highs..

We have been having a bit of a hard time of it here.

We have finally sorted out Suz's Dad's house, and got it sold, which was very emotional for Suz, as mentioned before, not helped by other members of the family, who not only did very little to help, but also kicked up a ruckus as well. Still, thats over now.

On top of all this, while we were clearing the house, one of our Ferrets was having real problems eating food, and when taken to the vets was diagnosed with very aggressive Bone cancer, and given just 3 days to live. We were told he was not in pain, but if he did not pass away over the weekend, then we would probably need to bring him to be PTS on the following Monday.

Because all our ferrets have been rescues, we have never actually had a baby ferret, until a few years ago, when we were asked by the rescue to collect some ferrets from a local place, only to discover one of the ferrets had given birth 3 days previously, and had not been fed for nearly a week. Having safely moved them to our house, it was decided not to take them to the rescue, as this might really upset the mother, and cause her to kill the kits, so we ended up bringing them up. When the time came to re-home them, one kept not being chosen, and as we had been told not to name them, as we would become attached, we started calling him "Reject", as he was always the rejected one... well, that of course meant even though we had not actually named him, he had a name, and we did indeed become attached to him, so he ended up staying, and lived out his whole life coming to the name "Reject".

I make a special convalescent soup for the ferrets, which I make in a large batch, freeze, and then in order to keep the ferrets used to it's taste, give them a small bowl of it each night. As Reject could still drink, we started feeding him this special soup, which he loved, and ended up taking him with us when we went places, as we had to make sure he was fed regularly with it. He literally travelled everywhere, sitting in the car, on Suz's lap, looking out the window, and sometimes nearly causing an accident when the car next to us in traffic suddenly spotted him looking at them. He helped us finish Suz's dad's house, enjoying checking all the work we did. As time went on, he lost the use of his back legs, but could still get up and down stairs, using his front legs to pull himself where ever he wanted to go.

As time went on, we kept an eye on him, wondering if today would be the day we would have to make the decision to have him PTS, but he would always rally and prove to us, he had a zest for life. Finally, after nearly an extra 6 months of life, he decided that he was ready, and after giving us a really lovely cuddle in the evening, passed away in his sleep that night.

After spending literally 24 hours a day with him, this hit us very hard, but there was consolation in knowing that he had truly had the best life a ferret could ask a human to give him, and died with dignity.

Wow, we miss him...

Luckily, we have 11 other ferrets who always do their best to take our minds off reality, and they did their best. Now, all 11 are very special, but even though I know you shouldn't, we can't help but find that sometimes one is really extra special. In our case, this was a little ferret called Poppet, she was perfect. She gave us cuddles and kisses when we were sad, and she did clowny things to make us laugh. She was always there, day and night, checking what we were up to. She was so tiny, she gave us heart failure a few times managing to get through gaps other ferrets could only dream about, and in 18 years of having ferrets, she is the only ferret that found a way to get up onto one of the surfaces in the kitchen, and help herself to treats. She would come up and join us in bed, and when we took her out for a walk, anybody who met her, would fall in love with her...

A couple of weeks back, through a terrible accident, Suz accidentality killed her.... I won't go into details, but I will have nightmares for a very long time, and poor Suz's for even longer.... Suz's has been close to suicidal and to be honest, I really have been scared silly trying to help her come to terms with it, all the time trying to come to turns with it myself...

To make things worse, the group of ferrets she lived with are all missing her terribly, and the group dynamics have been messed up, with them hardly bothering to get up.

Today, I decided we needed to try and put the past behind a bit of a veil, and see if we can move forward, so we drove to Stonehenge, and met a lady selling some ferret kits.

We brought 2 home, and are in the process of integrating them with the sad group, to stir them up a bit. Keep your fingers crossed as ferrets can be hard to get to take on new friends.

Meet our two new babies, no names yet, and they don't know it yet, but they have some very big boots to fill...

This one is a little Black Eyed White, and she is a little dynamo, and very spunky, with a lot of attitude.




And this little one is a Sandy ferret, and she is as cute as a button.





Sorry for the long post, but as we are all friends here, I thought I should share why I have been as quiet as I have this past few months, and why we were not able to attend any of the meet ups.
Lazy-Ferret is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-10-2018, 00:55   #2
solarman216
Off road maniac
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
solarman216's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Bexhill on Sea
Vehicle: Y60 Patrol Me, 3 ltr Mrs
Posts: 17,299
Default

My hat goes off to you Clive and I cannot imagine what Suz must be feeling, I just hope the new fellas integrate and get on, very best regards Rick & Maggs
__________________
Ex banger racer now off road maniac
Lokka on the front with manual hubs
Diff lock on rear
3 inch SS straight through exhaust
Manly winch bumper with 13000 lb winch
10 spike ground anchor, with multiple straps and blocks
Super strong body cills capped with scaffold pole
20% stronger springs all round
aggressive off road tyres on wheels so just swap.
Aim to get stuck and be completely self sufficient in extraction, love getting muddy, 2ft deep is good but rare.

Last edited by solarman216; 23-10-2018 at 00:57. Reason: spelling
solarman216 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-10-2018, 06:58   #3
jims-terrano
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 12,965
Default

Hi Clive and Suz, you both have my sympathies indeed. Hopefully now these two will bring that spark back that you both and the ferrets need. Nice to know that you and others are able to feel free enough to chat to friends on here. As for being quiet when there are meet ups, I’m sure there will be others.
We have had our share of pet troubles too. In the new year we lost our chocolate lab to bone cancer, a very upsetting time. We had done everything we could before finding out about the tumour. Then back in September we were away for a few days with our other lab and found a lump on his leg. We decided to wait for a while as we suspected it was a bite or something. Anyway after a few weeks the lump didn’t go away. Took him to vets and had a biopsy and sadly came back as cancer, couldn’t believe it on a 4 1/2 year old dog. Anyway good news is that he is recovering after an operation to remove it which tests proved clear tissue around the area. So we now have to just watch him now and see how it goes. Doesn’t matter what sort of animal you live with, they still get under your skin and become close.
I’m sure you’ll all get over this bad spell and the ferrets will come around with the two newbies.
All The Best mate.
jims-terrano is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-10-2018, 10:30   #4
macabethiel
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Derby
Vehicle: Freelander & Jeep GC 3.0
Posts: 4,415
Default Life dynamics.

Hi Clive & Sue,

I read your post with interest not just as I know little about Ferrets but also can identify with the change of dynamics in the family, we are dealing with family health issues too. Sue must have felt terrible after the accident, she needs to stop feeling guilty about it. Wendy suffered from PTSD after the fire and had (CBT) therapy from Trent PTS after referral by her GP. It has helped her enormously, it has taught her to deal with loss as well as other cognitive strategies to deal with the crap that life sometimes hits us with.

My father in law has advanced prostate cancer he is in the last 72 hours (estimated) of his life. Wendy spent time with him last night as there was a gap in the overnight care from the Marie Curie Nursing team. He has refused to go into hospital and is receiving end of life care from a team of people who are brilliant. Yesterday they put a Hospital Bed in his Lounge as he is now unable to stand & is incontinent. It's a massive loss of dignity in his last days of life. He went downhill when his wife died in January 2016 and lives alone. His son lives next door we are 10 miles away. His other two kids live locally and fell out with him over 20 years ago - they did not attend their mothers funeral in 2016!

Wendy also needs a hip replacement following a bad fall 3 years ago that exacerbated her arthritis. She has had to put the hip replacement operation on hold until her Father dies. When the pain is bad she has to take Tramadol as well as liquid Morphine to cope.

We had 5 Chihuahuas up until the 10th September when Ben our eldest one died- he was over 16 years old. We had to keep Ben separate from the other for the last two years of his life as his position as the dominant male slipped and Percy next in line at 10 years of age started bullying him aggressively.

We had some extra railings in the garden to split the space between the group of 4 & 1. We have a cat flap in our back door that Ben used and the cat flap in the Conservatory was for the others. (We could do none of this whilst we were in rented accomodation after the fire. They had to be caged for quite a lot of the time mainly when we were out)

After Ben died that left us with Percy, our Welsh sourced Chihuahua Mitzie plus her two pups now 11 months old. One is Lily and the other is a male Half-Pint. We found a home for the other male pup - Norman.

All was okay until about 3 weeks ago when Mitzie and her pups started bullying Percy. We now have Percy living in Ben's old half of the house & garden. Mother and siblings in the other half. Due to the relocation back into our house the dogs were initially quite vocal as they got used to the new surroundings - thus annoying one of our neighbours.

On the second night back in our old home we were woken up at 11.45 pm by our unhinged next door neighbour banging on our front door as our security light was keeping her awake!! The dogs had activated the PIR when they went outside during the evening. I have a time clock so that the security LED flood light stops working at 11.00 pm but had not reset the clock to allow for BST/GMT plus the clock was out of time due to power cuts at our house when they did the re-wire after the fire.

Our dogs only yap when visitors arrive, postman, refuse collection etc. They Yap when they hear Wendy's Jeep turn into the drive, within seconds our neighbour Gaye is shouting over the fence at them so they Yap a little longer. Her husband has been deaf since he was 6 years old- he is in his early 80's, has been verbally aggressive towards us for the last 10-15 years. None of the neighbours have anything to do with either of them as he/she has fell out with them over the years.

We have found out that she wants confrontation so is somewhat miffed that we totally ignore them with no dialogue. Following the 11.45 visit I did not speak to her but sent her a written response instead the following day.

Am off shortly to join Wendy at her Dads just waiting for the text to say morning carers have left.
macabethiel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-10-2018, 18:01   #5
don simon
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Gone.
Vehicle: Terrano ii
Posts: 2,215
Default

Bloody hell Clive, Suz! Nothing I can really say that improve things, except that things will improve.
don simon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-10-2018, 18:03   #6
Banshee
Moderator
 
Banshee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: West Midlands
Vehicle: 04 2.7 SWB Terrano II Van
Posts: 13,525
Default

Sorry to hear that news Clive, sounds like an awful situation to be in

Sounds like the change was needed and I'm glad to see 2 new additions to the household

All the best to you and Suz
__________________
Moderator

04' Terrano II SE 2.7 TDi SWB Commercial in Silver - Project Thread
Toyo Open Country M/T 33's on 10J Steels, Super Strong Steering Job
Navara D22 Snorkel, Front LOKKA, Maunal Hubs, EGR Blank
TunitII ECU Chip, 3" Body Lift, 2" Suss Lift, Heat Exchanger
Black Interior, 3.0 Borg&Beck Clutch, Eckes Heated Fuel Filter


99' Y61 Patrol GR SE 2.8 TD6 LWB in Blue/Silver - Project Thread
Engine Transplant - In Progress!!!
Banshee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24-10-2018, 20:16   #7
johnb5177
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Swansea, S.Wales
Vehicle: 02Terrano II 3.0 SVE Auto
Posts: 1,586
Default

Clive, so very sorry to hear your story.

I do believe that our furry friends have a secret healing power, just by being by our side, when you have such a close and warm relationship.

I know many wouldn't understand that, but we do on here......

I hope the sadness will pass, and Suz can rationalise the accident for what it was...just that....

Better times ahead with new furballs to care for and nurture.......
johnb5177 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24-10-2018, 21:37   #8
Lazy-Ferret
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Sevenoaks, Kent
Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring
Posts: 5,221
Default

Thanks Guys.

Wow, macabethiel & jims-terrano, sorry you have been through the mill as well...

Not sure how to say this, and it is meant in a good way, as I would never wish bad on any one, but it is nice to know life is not just victimising us this year.

The new guys are very tiny, we actually think that they are not as old as the lady said, as we are realising just how immature they are. Comparing them to pictures of the Kits we had many years ago, I think they are barely 8 weeks old and definitely not the 13 weeks she said.

Anyway they took yesterday to come to terms with their new surroundings, and were very subdued, but today they have come out of their shells and have been making us laugh a lot.... The problem is, being babies, they have 2 speeds, flat out belting around, or flat out, sound asleep... but when awake, they really are a great distraction.

We went out shopping today, so had some fun finding treats and stuff for them. Not sure if it is the same with other animals, but ferrets learn all the tastes they will eat in their first 16 weeks, and after that, if they have not tried it within that time frame, it can be nearly impossible to get them to eat it, so we are having fun testing their taste buds.. All the things we offered them, they took and seemed to enjoy, but we were not prepared for them climbing up us, and fighting for raw Cumberland sausage that was for our tea...

They are venturing further and further around the house, and discovering places, today, they found a gap under the stairs, between the portable aircon unit, and the re-cycling tubs, dragged a bit of bedding there, and made a bed..


To give you an idea of how tiny they are, this "dog bowl" containing their food is about 6" in diameter, and apparently it is easier to just climb in to eat...








there has been another side effect of getting them, the other group of ferrets can smell the strange ferrets on us, after we have been playing with them, and have become super attentive to us, demanding cuddles..

Lazy-Ferret is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24-10-2018, 22:04   #9
solarman216
Off road maniac
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
solarman216's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Bexhill on Sea
Vehicle: Y60 Patrol Me, 3 ltr Mrs
Posts: 17,299
Default

Just great Clive, they will soon be part of the family, keep us updated please, they are great little fellas, Rick
__________________
Ex banger racer now off road maniac
Lokka on the front with manual hubs
Diff lock on rear
3 inch SS straight through exhaust
Manly winch bumper with 13000 lb winch
10 spike ground anchor, with multiple straps and blocks
Super strong body cills capped with scaffold pole
20% stronger springs all round
aggressive off road tyres on wheels so just swap.
Aim to get stuck and be completely self sufficient in extraction, love getting muddy, 2ft deep is good but rare.
solarman216 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25-10-2018, 09:24   #10
macabethiel
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Derby
Vehicle: Freelander & Jeep GC 3.0
Posts: 4,415
Thumbs up The cutest looking Furbees !

Looking at the pictures and captions made me scream out loud with delight. I had no idea that Ferrets are such great pets. I have always associated them with Poachers going Rabbiting so shared the disposition of a Ratting Dog - how wrong I have been all these years!

Daft question but what is the situation with toilet training do you use a Cat Litter Tray or similar? I had to protect all loose electrical cables in the Conservatory where they sleep to stop them chewing through them whilst teething. One did eat through my Ethernet Cable but sorted it out without much cost.

I have attached a photo of our two pups - not really pups as they will be 12 months old on the 22nd of November. The white one is Lilly named after late Mother in Law she is a really good natured girl. The Tan one is Half-Pint he can be a bit yappy as he has worked out this gets him attention.

They sort of do a sit up Spooning act where one uses the other as a head rest. After a few minutes they will swap positions! Like your Ferrets they bring unconditional joy into our home.

Chihuahua Headresting by Ted Bagshaw, on Flickr

Naturally at first sign of a Camera they move so this one was taken through Patio Door Glass with Phone.
macabethiel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25-10-2018, 18:55   #11
Lazy-Ferret
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Sevenoaks, Kent
Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring
Posts: 5,221
Default

Love the picture... Ferrets are the same, getting pictures of them not asleep is a real art form.

Litter training is not normally a problem, they are intrinsically very clean animals, and will very easily take to using a litter tray. In the cage they have wood pellets, in a high backed tray, and outside the cages they use either news paper, or puppy pads. I have never worked out the ferret psychology but for some reason, wood pellets in a tray outside the cage are classed as a play pen, and will be dug and rolled in, spreading them everywhere, but not when it is in the cage. Basically, they normally go in corners, so you put the litter trays there, and if the corner is less than ideal, you can dissuade them by putting some bedding, or food/water there.

They do not normally chew objects, even now with the kits teething, they tend to use our toes and fingers!! We give them the raw tips off of chicken wings to chew on, which helps them teeth and reduces the wear and tear on our limbs.. We also have a dehydrator, and we make a Chicken jerky for them to chew on as well.

Having said al that, there is a caveat to the chewing rule! Some have a thing for Silicon rubber... so super flexible cables like some Ethernet, and my soldering iron lead, some non-slip feet, rubber coated pens, and some remote control buttons are fair game. Luckily its not very common, but we have one here, who we have to make sure we put the remote control out of her way when we go to bed, as she has already demolished the "Mute" button.

There is a design fault in ferrets, their gut gets narrower as it passes through the body, so if they eat anything that does not digest, it can cause an intestinal blockage. We have to be very careful of that sort of thing, which means a lot of dog and cat toys are no good for ferrets. We had one get it in the early days of having ferrets, and luckily caught it early enough that the vet was able to save her life... a bill like that makes you a lot more careful in the future!!!

Today we managed to wear the girls out.... only took 3 hours.



ohh... and you can use ferrets to forecast the weather...

Normally, a couple of days before there are gales, storms or a big change in the weather, the ferrets will go mad, and play like demented little devils.

This is our little old lady, Flyte, who as far as she is concerned is an 8 year old Kit, playing in the garden today. You have been warned...

https://youtu.be/0NNOxdt4b2I
Lazy-Ferret is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25-10-2018, 19:39   #12
jims-terrano
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 12,965
Default

I totally get why you like them so much Clive, they do look like a lot of fun. Hope you can get them all introduced together and living peacefully soon.
jims-terrano is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25-10-2018, 23:10   #13
Lazy-Ferret
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Sevenoaks, Kent
Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring
Posts: 5,221
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jims-terrano View Post
I totally get why you like them so much Clive, they do look like a lot of fun. Hope you can get them all introduced together and living peacefully soon.
We will wait until the girls are a bit older before we try again, they need a bit more confidence to be able to tell the others where to go, when they try it on.

Having said that, their confidence is growing by the hour, today they were exploring new places in the house, and little Sherbet went out into the court. Looks like she is going to be into off roading...



Toffee on the other hand knows where the best food is coming from..



Lazy-Ferret is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25-10-2018, 23:59   #14
solarman216
Off road maniac
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
solarman216's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Bexhill on Sea
Vehicle: Y60 Patrol Me, 3 ltr Mrs
Posts: 17,299
Default

Love the pics Clive please keep them coming, you must s,pend so much time with these little guys it is must drain you, and yes love the food, we give our Jacks raw meat usually stewing steak and now and again sheep's hearts which they go mad for Rick
__________________
Ex banger racer now off road maniac
Lokka on the front with manual hubs
Diff lock on rear
3 inch SS straight through exhaust
Manly winch bumper with 13000 lb winch
10 spike ground anchor, with multiple straps and blocks
Super strong body cills capped with scaffold pole
20% stronger springs all round
aggressive off road tyres on wheels so just swap.
Aim to get stuck and be completely self sufficient in extraction, love getting muddy, 2ft deep is good but rare.
solarman216 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-10-2018, 00:30   #15
Lazy-Ferret
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Sevenoaks, Kent
Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring
Posts: 5,221
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by solarman216 View Post
Love the pics Clive please keep them coming, you must s,pend so much time with these little guys it is must drain you, and yes love the food, we give our Jacks raw meat usually stewing steak and now and again sheep's hearts which they go mad for Rick
They are part of our lives, and have free rein, like most peoples dogs, so we do get to spend a good deal of time with them. They are a very rewarding animal, as you do get back what you put into them with a high rate of interest, so it is very rewarding. Most people do not realise just how intelligent they are, but they do not always use their brains for good. I always thought Blofeld, in James Bond, would have been more convincing is he had sat there stroking a ferret, instead of a cat..

We popped to Tesco's tonight to get some some chicken wings, for the kits, and we got there as they had reduced a load of mince and chicken, so we got 1kg pack if chicken breasts for £1.20, and 500g of mince was 60p. Makes it a nice cheap way to try the ferrets on lots of different foods.

They were funny, as we divide it straight up into portions, to then freeze it till we need it, and they did not take long to learn that if they stand on your foot, stretch up your leg, and then tap your shin, they get your attention, and a sample...

They stuffed themselves, and are now all tucked up in bed with full tummies, and very satisfied smiles on their faces.
Lazy-Ferret is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:39.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Images online photo albums