Zig-Zag Ziggity-Zip Ziggy!
by Todd Leuthold
Last time, I regaled you with the tale of my cat, Puffy. This time, I’ll let you know about Ziggy. The guy is a nut. Cashew, I think. Might be a peanut, though.
I got Ziggy (and Add-A-Kiss) from a girl who lived in Carlisle, PA. She
had been attending school full time and had just gotten a promotion at
work, which required full time hours, as well. Living alone, she felt
that her ferrets would be neglected, so she began the search for a new
home for them.
Since this was some time ago, I’m not certain if the person who
contacted me did so from the FML, or if they had monitored alt.pets.ferrets
and had noticed that I rescue ferrets. Anyway, this guy sent me a message
saying that a girl was looking for a home for two fur-kids and I responded.
They came with a couple of toys, a two-level cage and a litter box, along
with some food.
Though Add-A-Kiss was a sweetie (she gives kisses all the time—but that’s another story!), Ziggy was very interesting. He always seemed to be drunk. Though walking seemed to be a bit of a challenge for him, he just kept it up. He sniffed everything—for extended periods of time. He especially liked to sniff the cat, if he was sleeping.
At first, I thought he didn’t like the snacks that I prefer to give my ferts (Bandits Ferret Snacks). Unless he was right next to my hand when I held out a snack, he never came to me. You have to understand, I didn’t know that blazes tend to be deaf and I had no idea that he could be blind, either. He got around just fine. He could find the litter box without fail (one of the only ferrets in my house that always finds a litter box to do his business in!). He knew where the toys were put when everyone was sleeping. He could find his cage, no matter where he was in the house.
Now that I know that he was deaf and blind, his unsteady gait and drunken appearance make a lot more sense! I’ve also noticed over time, that he can’t smell very well most days. I’ve often thought that I’d have to tape his snacks to his nose, just to be sure that he got his share! ? His handicaps don’t seem to bother him at all, though.
His cage is located on a large “corner” table, with something of an obstacle course to get to it. Stuffy—one of his playmates—likes to chase Ziggy around the house. They love to sleep together when they are out and will often wrestle, gang up on Puffy the cat and like to go for a romp around the house with each other.
However, as it goes even with good friends, there are times when Ziggy just wants to take a nap and Stuffy wants to go for a jog. So Ziggy beats feet for his cage and the relative safety of his snuggle sack. This is the path he has to take if he happens to be standing in the middle of the living room floor when he starts.
First, he must figure out where the coffee table is. He then locates the couch, then the stairs. He goes up four steps, then goes between the safety bars and comes out on the back of the love seat. A left turn will take him to the upper level of the “corner” table. He runs along the ridge, ducks under one of my daughter’s games, runs along the far ridge, jumps down onto the table itself, scoots along the far side of the cage, rounds the corner, goes under the lay-down cage door, curls over the far side of the door and into his cage. He does all this at full speed, without a moment’s hesitation. Not bad for a blind, deaf fert with a broken sniffer, huh? ?
Somewhere along the way, he typically loses Stuffy, so his escape allows him to get some rest.
We mentioned the cat, didn’t we? Well, he used to just like to sniff the cat. Now, that’s no longer enough. He will actually do the ‘nose point’ deal at the cat. If the cat just sits there, he will move in for the kill—uh—the bite. He’ll actually grab a hunk of fur and chomp down! The cat typically reacts with immediate fury and fear, screaming and thrashing to get away. He always does, since he’s about 14 pounds and Ziggy is only about 1.3 pounds! The cat tries to sleep in places where he doesn’t think the ferrets will get him, but Ziggy will sometimes pop up in places you’d never think he’d get to!
Ziggy is also my Insulinoma ferret. I realized several months ago, that
he had lost a significant amount of weight and he was starting to drool.
I thought maybe he was experiencing stress or stomach troubles and treated
him for both. That didn’t seem to help. I then took him to the vet
and he confirmed that Ziggy had extremely low blood sugar.
After some adjustments, we have found a dosage of Pediapred that appears
to help Ziggy counteract the symptoms of this disease. He has gained back
his weight and energy and appears to be back to his old self! ?
Probably the funniest thing about Ziggy, is that he has no problem prairie-dogging when he wants a snack, but never seems to know which way to point when doing so. It’s just as common to see him facing completely away from me, patiently waiting for his snack, as it is to have him facing me! He also likes to sneak up behind me and poke his nose under my T-shirt to tap me with that cold wet thing! Yikes! He seems to get a kick out of it.
When I got Ziggy, the girl who had him before said that he was a rescue and she had no information on him, as to age, medical history, etc. She also appears to have had no knowledge that he was deaf and blind, either. This tells me that he had suffered from both conditions long enough to be able to adapt before she had gotten him. On top of this, his age appears to be rather advanced (according to the vet), which just increases the difficulties of having these disabilities. Yet, with all of these problems, he acts as though everything is perfectly normal. He plays, runs, jumps, chases the cat, goes for jogs around the house, finds toys and knows where all of the prime hidey holes are located. He can thread his way through any obstacle in the house with the same ability as any other ferret I have.
I guess this just goes to prove that even a disabled ferret can have a very high quality of life, given the chance. They just need the time to adapt and they can be just like any other ferret. If you are blessed with the change to get a handicapped ferret, give them some time and patience. Their enjoyment of life will continue.
More to come!
Todd and the (Just Push Play!) Fuzzbutt Rodeo Clowns!