Ms. Ferret - A Ferret Blog: Cheeba Remembered

Well, it's settled - I'm never going to be able to write this post without getting all weepy and choked up. So I'm just going to bite the bullet and give my little Cheeba the remembrance he deserves.

I brought Cheeba home when he was just 8 weeks old. He had been at Petco for only 3 days when I wandered in to fill out an application and wandered out with Cheeba instead. I went to the ferret "tank" to check out the babies, and here was this adorable little puffball of a sable staring at me. I walked around the cage, he followed me. I stopped, he stopped. I went to find an associate to take Cheeba out, and when I got back he was in the same spot waiting for me. When I held him in my arms, he immediately snuggled into my neck and sighed. I was smitten, and from that moment on, I was his.

I spent all my time with him. He went to work with me and sat on my lap for 8 hours a day. He loved to meet the people who came into the shop, and for that period of time, I was known as "the ferret lady" on main street in Newark, DE.

I used to take him on walks around the neighborhood. I got some really strange looks from my neighbors, let me tell you. Cheeba would take his time, sniffing everything, and when I got too far ahead of him, he would chase me. Of all of my ferrets, he's the only one who ever actually liked having his harness and lead on. Here's a picture of us taking a walk in the woods near our house that first summer.

I also used to take him on car rides. He was content to lay in my lap and listen to Sublime (his favorite song seemed to be Scarlet Begonias.) We went on a road trip down to Florida once, and he spent the entire trip (17 hours) lying in my lap or Steve's lap, sleeping contentedly.

Cheeba was a loving, playful ferret. His favorite toy was a small green plush frog on a string. He was funny about playing with the frog though - he liked to chase it, but he didn't actually want anything to do with it when he caught up with it. He was a very passive aggressive player too, attacking sideways with his head turned rather than full on, both with his toys and with the other ferrets.

Cheeba wasn't a kissy ferret. Never in all the years I had him did he lick me (without ferretone bribery, anyway), but he did have a way to show me his love. When I picked him up and told him I loved him, he would push his nose into my ear and sniff. He also liked to stick his head in my mouth and sniff around.

About 8 months after I brought him home, I decided that it was time for Cheeba to have a friend. We adopted Mojo from Oxford Ferret Rescue, and he and Cheeba bonded instantly. They were playing and sleeping together within the first 2 hours they were introduced. But even with as much as Cheeba loved Mojo, he still loved his special one on one mommy time more. He was a ferret's ferret when it suited him, but first and foremost he was my mama's boy.

Oh, but he was a stinker too! When I first brought him home, I used to bring him in the shower with me for his baths. The first time I just held him over the edge of the tub to bathe him, he waited until I was washing his butt and then he pooped right in my hand! He also peed on my head once when I was kneeling down cleaning the lower level of his cage. And he constantly tested my limits, staring challengingly at me while pooping directly next to the litter box. (yes, there is a common theme here - Cheeba loved to use defecation and urination to make a point! thank god he wasn't a monkey or he probably would have thrown it at me.) So yes, he was a sweetheart, but he was a total spoiled brat too! I loved both sides of him.

As he got older and we added more ferrets, Cheeba welcomed each and every new addition. He was always cleaning the new arrivals' ears, curling up with them for a nap, giving them whatfor if they pissed him off. But his absolute favorite thing to do was still spend time with me. I think he felt even more special during those times because he realized it was something the other ferrets didn't get. Maybe that's ascribing too much human emotion to him, but I swear that he had a sweetness and a glow about him when he got to go somewhere with me.

And as he got older, he also started having health problems. He had his first ulcer outbreak in spring of 2005. I thought I was going to lose him that time, but with some serious nursing and his amazing will, he pulled through. In March of 2006 he had to be hospitalized, again for ulcers. About a month later he was diagnosed with insulinoma. We stabilized his BG levels only to have him suffer another ulcer outbreak. In July of 2006 he was diagnosed with adrenal disease and we started him on Lupron. During this time, he discovered his love for Gerber's Chicken & Chicken Gravy baby food. Before this point, his absolute favorite treat was Ferretone, but after he had plain baby food, he would eat an entire jar - 60 cc's - in one sitting if I let him. I had to watch to make sure he didn't finish his and move on to Jebabba's.

So insulinoma & adrenal - a common combo of illness that I thought wouldn't take him from me for a while. Then October came, and he started acting sick again. We treated him for another ulcer outbreak, but something was different...wrong. At the end of October, we found out that he was no longer insulinomic - he was diabetic. If you've read any of my other posts, you know how much we struggled, both Cheeba and I. That little ferret was so brave, so strong, so determined to stay here as long as he could. We spent almost every minute together, much like we did when he was a kit, but for a much sadder reason. If I was working, he was in my lap or nearby sleeping somewhere. During the evening, he was usually in my lap. At night, he was in the bedroom. He wanted it that way too - whimpering when the other ferrets came near him. He wanted me and only me. My entire life revolved around him, and as sad as I was about the possibility that I could lose him any day, I enjoyed that time with him. I was able to show him how much I loved him.

So January 15 - it was time to let him go. Lymphoma had caused his liver and spleen to become grossly enlarged. Diabetes had damaged his heart. He was having respiratory difficulties, and nothing we could do would truly improve his situation. I held him as I paced around the exam room, trying not to break down. I told him how much I loved him, how I was going to do this one last thing for him, how it wasn't going to hurt anymore. Then I sang him Scarlet Begonias one last time and called the vet in. She gave him the shot, and as he drifted away, I talked to him more, telling him again how much I loved him, how special he was, how there would never be another ferret like him, how I would remember him always. There was one last little breath, and he was gone.

See, here I am crying again. What can I say? I'm a selfish bitch, I want him here with me.

I feel so lucky to have been able to share his life. I even feel lucky that I was able to be there with him when he passed on, to help him cross over the bridge. And I know that when I die, he will be waiting there for me, in the same spot I last saw him, just like that first day in the pet store. And I'll pick him up, and he'll snuggle into my neck and sigh, and I'll know that I'm home.

I love you, Cheeba. Wait for me.

During his last couple months