u/Luckiest_Creature

Our sweet magical boy has passed on today, in our arms at the vet. He was about 8 years old, and was the cuddliest ferret around, even back when he had energy to run and play, he would always return for kisses and snuggles. His favorite pastime when he was still spry was performing magic tricks (suddenly appearing on top of things he had no business being able to climb).

He was truly my special boy, he gave me kisses a dozen times a day. He is survived by his brother Poptart, who already misses him dearly but is doing okay so far.

Fly high, little noodle. Pour one (soup?) out for the friend who is no longer with us. 🥀

Mr Merlin (pictured above snuggling in my bed) is about 8, and has a chronically large spleen as well as recent esophagus troubles. We’ve largely figured out the esophagus thing, he’s on a soft diet with lots of hydration and he eats upright. He recently had antibiotics for a mild case of pneumonia, which the vet was satisfied with the results of (his cough fully went away).

But the lethargy remained, and he’s lost a LOT of muscle tone in his hind end in the month since. Which has resulted in hin having a much harder time dragging his big ol spleen belly around, and he really only plays for about 5 minutes and tends to sleep the rest of the day (as opposed to running around for nearly 2 hours straight every day, up until his pneumonia last month). He was tested for insulinoma as well, which came back negative and normal. The vet basically shrugged and said “well, he is pretty old. If he stops being able to make it to his litter box, then you’ll know it’s time.”

I guess I’m largely looking for advice on how to keep him comfy. I’m not delulu, I know he’s an old man and is likely in his final months 🥺

We have a one-level bunny enclosure I’m thinking of moving him to, so he doesn’t have to struggle with the plastic ramps of their multi-level cage. But then I worry he’d miss his brother, they sleep together every day, and the hutch is a tad small for two (his brother is the same age but very active). He still has a great appetite and is a great water-drinker.

Any folks who have helped elderly ferrets through their last chapter, can I have some tips? They’re my first ferrets, and my only other ferret that has passed was fairly young (she had a large tumor that wasn’t operable). So I’m new to the geriatric noodle game.

(Repost because the pics didn’t actually upload last time. Apologies for the shitty screenshots as well, lol)

I was inspired by u/SignificantScheme881 and their beautiful Lala Atelier gown (seen copied in the first pic) to create a dressing room and some gowns to go in it! Once the room itself is what I want it to be, I’ll post some pics of the rest of it 😁

*Dinner is brisket, mashed potatoes, and Mac & Cheese. Plus a very small helping of broccoli because I didn’t realize I only had like 2 small crowns of it. If anyone is looking for a banger oven brisket recipe, I can link the one I use :)*

A bit of a rant ahead, input is welcome though!

So, I am not a very online individual, I don’t use tiktok or insta. But in my occasional scrolling of YouTube shorts, I see the leftovers of the random momentary culture moments from the aforementioned apps (usually months after they were viral on TT/insta).

One thing I’ve been seeing pop up lately is the idea that boils down to: *”If you think your friend may not be a girls girl, test her by saying you want to cut your hair really short! If she says you should, she’s not a girls girl. In fact, she’s praying on your downfall.”* I scrolled to the comments, expecting/hoping to see at least some of the girlies saying that’s nonsense. Nope! Hundreds and hundreds of girls (and men) agreeing wholeheartedly.

What. The. Hell. As a lifelong pixie cut girl myself (literally since I was 11, I’m now 27), I LOVE my hair. The Betty Boop has been my signature look for years now, and I get a lot of really nice comments from folks of all genders, but especially women. Anytime a woman goes “ooh you make me want to cut off all my hair!” I get so giddy, because hell yeah girl! Why not? (To be clear, I have never once suggested unsolicited that a woman with long hair get a pixie. Only when it’s brought up and they express interest).

But the idea that some may think I’m “praying on their downfall” or trying to “sabotage their femininity” with my comments makes me so mad. The online teen zeitgeist cannot really be as shallow as to say “if your friends support you doing anything out of the norm, they secretly hate you/are jealous”. That’s insane.

And it also potentially explains why one of my coworkers at my old job literally stopped speaking to me after we had an interaction that went “omg girl I love your hair. I should cut mine short like that!” And I said “try it girlie, summer is coming! Or also a cute bob would look great with your face shape.” and she deadass never spoke to me about anything other than work, ever again.

Idk how to wrap this up. I’m frustrated lol. Gonna go finish my spring cleaning and have some leftover brisket!

I wish you all a very wonderful day/night, and the following advice: get the pixie cut if you want 😭 if you don’t want, then don’t! 🥹

Edit: someone who is shadowbanned asked for the brisket recipe and I can’t respond bc your comment is hidden! IDK if I’m allowed to link here, but it’s the “best Passover brisket recipe” by the food blog Feed Me Phoebe :)