Strange Hobby

A while back a friend of mine in the ferret community posted about keeping old ferrets with late stage cardiomyopathy alive and happy a kind of "strange hobby". She had one who was about 10 or 11 years old at the time. I think this applies to any person caring for any ferret that's approaching the end of their life and fighting a terminal illness.

I post more about Nyssa on this blog not because I love her more than any of my other ferrets but rather because her needs are special and she takes so much more care than the others. Yes, she's also special to me because she's been with me so long (over 7½ years) and because this is the third time I've nursed her through a health crisis. The first was a blockage when she was just four months old. The second was her recovery from adrenal surgery over four years ago. Nyssa's battle with lymphoma is, sadly, her final health crisis. She can't recover from this one.

Nyssa continues to amaze me the way she tenaciously fights when I think other ferrets would have given up. She's just skin and bones and that reminds me of Ryo-Ohki at the end of her life, yet unlike Ryo she still has an amazing appetite and does all she can to keep going by eating and drinking with great enthusiasm. I don't spoon feed her gravy like I did at first because she'll gladly dive into a bowl of the stuff and lick it clean. Here is a brand new picture of Nyssa having her lunch:

Last night she only ran around for 15 minutes or so but she split the time between exploring and literally running and playing with Chin Soon. That was really good to see. So long as I can keep Nyssa happy and her quality of life good I feel that all my efforts are really being rewarded.

Sure Ella, Zephyr, and Chin Soon are playful and are more fun to have around. Nyssa will follow me, is affectionate, wants to be held, and generally shows she knows who cares for her and how much she appreciates what I do for her. The time, effort, and money I spend on Nyssa are all very much worthwhile and I'll do all I can to keep her happy for as long as possible.

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