Triangle Ferret Lovers Newsletter
Issue 21, August/September 1997
by Cher R. Clarke
Since kindergarten you've all been taught the ABCs of disaster preparedness: Keep a bag of food/water/batteries/radio, etc.; ready near the door; position yourself in a doorway or under table for earthquake; evacuate for hurricane; evacuate for fire; evacuate for mudslide; keep cool and drink fluids for a heat emergency; seal yourself inside for a gas leak or other hazardous waste spill outside your home; lowest-level non-windowed room for tornado. BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR FERRETS? What is you plan?! Don't tell me; just HAVE ONE! And just like fire drills in grade school, practice practice practice!
My plan: The large carrier (for vet transport) is located atop the ferrets' cage. The bedding is always clean, toys, waterbottle, and a tube of FerretVite in there. We've practiced. I put the carrier on the floor, put the FerretVite and bottle into my pocket, then put the ferrets into the carrier. For a weather emergency, I carry them out through the back stair (enclosed); for fire, we use the front stair (to avoid kitchen). The first order of business is to find them. Usually they're in plain sight, in their cage or under the couch. Everyone I can find goes into the carrier and onto the porch. In practice, I can get them all in the carrier & out of the house in about a minute. Think hard, and then plan it out. Got kids? Kids love to be involved in planning. So get it together and design your disaster plan, with an eye toward the safety of your ferrets.
On Monday evening at say, 7PM EDT, call FIRE DRILL. Time it and
see how you do. Someday it will matter. Or maybe it never will.
Murphy's Law on Disaster Preparedness states that if you're ready,
it won't happen. So you'll be preventing disaster by being
prepared. Finally, if the police or civil defense or national
guard come to your door and tell you to evacuate, DO IT. If they
say leave your pets because this will be short-lived, DON'T LISTEN!
BRING YOUR PETS! Yes, generally, you should do what these guys
say, because they know what they're talking about. But predicting
the duration of a disaster is impossible for anyone. Treat
evacuation like a fire drill. Bring your pets. Presently, a Red
Cross Shelter will not admit you with your pets. This being the
case, it's up to you to plan on where to keep them in the event of
evacuation. Please don't leave them behind.
When Is The Next TriFL Meeting?
The next Triangle Ferret Lovers
club meeting will be a COOK-OUT on
Saturday, September 13th at Jim & Leslie Dunn's backyard in
Knightdale WITHOUT ferrets from 4:30pm-6:30pm. Bring chairs and/or
blankets.
...Tim Kwasny
What is this list? Well, it started out as my own little project to see what people had named their ferrets. I wanted to know how you guys came up with some of these cute names. I asked for e-mail from the alt.pets.ferrets, and from the Ferret Mailing List and boy did I get mail!
Anyway, here's the info from the web page found at: http://www.texramp.net/~ahn/ferretlist.html
Last updated: August 14, 1997 10:00AM CST Ferrets: 4,661 Owners: 1,443 Males: 2,339 Females: 2,234 Unknown: 88 Most Popular Names: Bandit 55 Bear 30 Rascal 27 Taz 21 Buddy 20 Gina 1 Owners with the most ferrets submitted: William Killian 83 Pam Grant 77 Tracy Tunnison 69Don't let your ferrets feel left out! Go to the Ferret Name List Addition Page at http://www.texramp.net/~ahn/addferret.html or e-mail me at ahn@texramp.net. If you decide to just e-mail me, please be sure to tell me your name as well as your ferrets, and don't assume I can guess the sex of your ferret by the name. To receive the name list via e-mail, send mail to: LISTSERV@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU and in the body of your mail: SEND FERRET NAMES
An easy and cheap way to make the Midwest Cage more secure is, first, not to get the ferret kind at all, but to get the cat version, which comes with two carpeted shelves. Second, use a tape measure and have a friend who's a handy carpenter cut planks to match the breadth of the cage - 2 ft. The planks can be as wide as you want. I use 1/2" plywood cut into 2 ft by 1 ft pieces. Third, go to the hardware store and buy those question-mark shaped screws - the sort with a hook on one end and a screw on the other - and screw two into each end of the plank. Voila, you have a new shelf! I usually sand down the planks and I'm currently in the process of making canvas covers for them, but wood is usually 'grippable' by the ferrets. Also, i have a minimum of five shelves per midwest cage, and it's no further than 8"-10" height between shelves - nobody can fall very far.
I'm always thrilled when someone finds the true joy of these little fuzzfaces. Ask yourself these questions BEFORE you get your new addition:
- Will I have after-school activities that will take up too much of my time? - Will my school work take up too much of my time? - Will dating take up too much of my time? - Will I be going away to school in the next few years? - Will you be able to afford the $300-500 adrenalectomy?I've heard the excuses "I just don't have enough time" and "Little [pick-a-name] just doesn't take care of it anymore." I'm sure you've read that ferret shelters are around and there are lots of once loved but now unwanted ferrets in need of homes - kits to old timers. Shelters know the personality of the ferret and will give you correct information on care and handling. Shelters are always looking for loving permanent homes and are very careful who they adopt to. I don't mean to insult any responsible pet stores out there, but for the most part they only tell you what you want to hear in order to make a sale. Please think very carefully about the responsibility that you're taking on for another life and make an informed decision BEFORE you get a ferret.
Or are you just contented that your name is on the list? Do you attend each meeting and mingle with the flock? Or do you stay at home and criticize and knock? Do you take an active part to help the work along? Or are you satisfied to be the kind who just "belong"? Do you work on a committee to see that it's no trick? Or leave the work to just a few and talk about a clique? Do you come to meetings often, and help with hand and heart? Don't be just a member but take an active part! Think this over, and remember you know right from wrong, Are you an active member, or do you just belong...? Anonymous
TRIangle Ferret Lovers 4001 Cummings Circle #1-B Raleigh, NC 27613
This web page is maintained by Pam Sessoms. I can be reached at: pjdutche@email.unc.edu.
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