Another Angel in Heaven - Kitty

Kitty is now an Angel in Heaven. He was put to sleep 5/16/2008, after three dogs attacked him. He suffered with horrible injury. I adopted him as a kitten, and he was with me for 8 years. He may be gone, but will always be in my heart forever.

Heaven got a STAR today
And earth seems somehow dim.....
On angel's wings you went to God
And leapt, four footed to him!

Wait for me, my dearest
Though you're gone I'm not alone....
You've left pictures in my memory
And paw prints on my soul!

Poem For Kitty

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And, as a cat, I am most able
To decide anything for myself

Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon, replied the whiskered angel
But I must come slowly.
For my human friends are troubled.
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.

But don't they understand? asked God
That you'll never leave them?
That you souls are intertwined for all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is...forever and ever and ever.

Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat.
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them
I just am...forever and ever and ever.

-Author Unknown

Ferret Property Laws

Bobo - my pet ferret - now at Rainbow Bridge

Bobo - born 1/19/2003

I bought Bobo 3/23/2003 - he passed away 1/14/2007 died in his sleep from unknown causes.

Bobo was such a good pet, alway ready to play, loved chasing balls. He was alway very relaxed when held. His only bad habit was getting up on my desk, when I wasn't looking, and trying to steal my Dr Pepper. Many times I'd come back to my desk to find Dr Pepper spilled and on the floor.

THE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITES OF OWNING A PET FERRET

Ferrets are wonderful pets, but they are also prone to various medical disorders. If you are considering a ferret as a pet, the cost associated with ownership is just not the initial purchase price, you need to look all costs - pet food, supplies, and veterinarian care, which can be quite expensive. Marshall Farms Ferrets, due to genetics and the effects of early altering/stress of shipping of pet store babies, has a high prevalence of medical problems. A responsible owner will make sure their pet is in the best of health by providing the right foods, veterinarian checkups, secure & safe accommodations, and lots of play time, to prevent illness. A good quality diet is one of the most important for prevention of illness and disease. Not all ferret foods provide the right nutritional requirements needed and can cause problems.

It might be wise to set up a little fund "just in case", setting aside a few dollars each month to make it easier on the budget, for a goal of about $800 - $1000. So many times, I've read on various forums asking advice on sick ferrets, the owner explaining they do not have necessary funds for a veterinary visit, but sadly the only thing that can be done is the ferret does need emergency vet care. Ferrets are so small, and go downhill very rapidly without immediate care, and can die within a few days. There's no need for any animal to be in pain and suffer because you don't have the money.

But there may be some alternatives, in case finances are not available. Explain to your veterinarian that your having financial difficulties, see if a payment arrangement can be worked out. I had to do this when my cat was ill, I had explained to my veterinarian about my limited finances, and she gave me a discount. Ask friends and family for contributions.

You might qualify for financial aid for pets. Medical treatment for pets can come up when you least expect it, they shouldn't be denied the medical treatments that may be necessary to save their lives. There is help that may be available. Here are some websites that offer financial aid and/or credit cards for vet bills. There are strict requirements for some of them, please visit these sites for future reference.

www.imom.org/ Nonprofit organization for sick, injured and abused companion animals.

www.petsamaritan.org/Medical/ Provides financial assistance to low-income pet owners who can’t afford medical care for their pets

www.angels4animals.org/ provides financial aid to complete treatment to pets and pet owners in need.

www.carecredit.com/ Offers a revolving line of credit

www.thepetfund.com/ Provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals who need urgent veterinary care

www.uan.org/ provides funding to Good Samaritans, animal rescuers, and pet owners to help them care for animals in life-threatening situations.

www.all-creatures.org/gcm/links.html List of resources for some breed specific pets, or for specific locations

http://www.pets911.com If you are facing unforeseen expenses and meet certain low income requirements, there may be a financial assistance program available to help you with the cost associated with your pet’s treatment.

http://www.aahahelpingpets.org/ With this fund, veterinary care is possible for sick or injured pets even when they have been abandoned or their owners are experiencing financial hardship. The AAHA Foundation trustees envision a future when more pets are saved and more pet owners are grateful. Foundation staff is working every day to make this vision a reality.

Or Google "pet financial aid"

Basic First aid for pets - American Red Cross

Web Sites Related to Emergency and Critical Care Medicine

How do I know it is time? Pet euthanasia

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has granted new veterinary specialty - Exotic Companion Mammal (ECM)

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has granted provisional recognition to the first completely new veterinary specialty since 1993. The new specialty will focus on small mammals including rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, mice and other small mammals, commonly known as "pocket pets." (Personal observation - I hate ferrets being referred to as "pocket pets", plus the other mammals "rabbits, guinea pigs, mice - all rodents" seems to imply that the ferret is a rodent also, hence the misconception that ferrets are rodents.)

The new Exotic Companion Mammal (ECM) specialty was granted provisional recognition by the AVMA Executive Board on April 12, 2008, following recommendation from the AVMA American Board of Veterinary Specialties (ABVS) and Council on Education.

"The public and the profession will see these specialists as providing that next level of care of small exotic pets," explains Dr. Beth Sabin, assistant director of the AVMA's Education and Research Division. "This new specialty is really the outgrowth of the growing and ever increasing knowledge base of the particular needs of these animals in order to keep them healthy."

Americans own 6.2 million pet rabbits, 1.2 million hamsters, 1.1 million ferrets, and a million guinea pigs, according to the 2007 AVMA U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook. The new ECM practice area includes these and other more unusual small pets, including hedgehogs and sugar gliders, but doesn't include illegal pet species-sometimes referred to as "fad pets"-which have been linked to the spread of zoonotic diseases. In 2003, prairie dogs and Gambian giant pouched rats kept as pets were linked to a serious monkeypox outbreak.

http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=105348

ANOTHER PERSONAL OBSERVATION: If the veterinarian is treating small mammals, and all of them are rodents with the exception of ferrets, could this be a fatality waiting to happen in the waiting room? What if a ferret got loose in a room full of rodents?

Ferrets - Living rat traps

In this article from Popular Science, February 1936, about how Levi Farsworth started raising ferrets and became one of the largest ferret farms in New London, Ohio, raising as many as 10,000 a year. They were sold for extermination of rats, but they also were used for ridding of other pests. It explains how the ferrets are raised and kept.

Living Rat Traps RAISED ON NOVEL FARMS

In This Article, the Author Takes You for a Visit To a Strange “Ranch” Where Ferrets Are Bred by Thousands To Aid Man in His War Against Rodents
By Walter E. Burton

IF A MAN. . . make a belter mouse-trap than his neighbor,” someone said, “though he build his home in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.” The truth of this statement is being realized with profit by a number of “farmers” in the vicinity of New London, Ohio; only the traps are raised and not built, and they work equally well with rats, prairie dogs, and squirrels. New London is known as the ferret center of the world, because more of those animals are raised there than in any other place, some 25,000 a year being a conservative present-time estimate.

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