Maxxie Margaret's Story

The little rat-tailed ferret lay in the bottom of her cage on a piece of stiff ragged out toweling, not thinking, moving, or doing anything at all - just zoned out into nothingness. Her skin was so thin that her bones showed through, every rib and knob. Her fur was a nondescript brown color from the dirt in the cage and because a bath was something Maxxie had ever experienced. The cage was stored in the corner of a dark garage and sometimes, a human would come in, usually to fix a car and sometimes, if she was lucky, to feed her. The human would pour some cat food into the enclosure and add water to a dirty bowl. By the time Maxxie, (as she was called), realized what the sounds were, she would wake up and race up the ramp to the top; however, by then, the human was already moving away, intent on doing something else. Maxxie laid her eyes back close to her skintight skull and sniffed the air, but there was nothing there anymore. The human had disappeared.

Quietly, Maxxie shuffled her way to the bottom of the cage and nosed around the food, wrinkling her whiskers in distaste. The food has been scattered helter skelter on the bottom and it had fallen mostly where her own scat was piled up. The cage had never been cleaned in her memory and feces were piled six inches deep across the majority of the floor. The bowl, into which some water had been poured, was fastened by a clip on the outside of the wire, crusty with filth and the bottom was filled with pieces of dirt that always drifted into it. Over time, the dirt, dust and more had formed a skin of rank scum on the inside of the bowl. Maxxie had no choice but to pick out the food the best she could and to take only small sips of water. It wasn't going to get any better in the future, not since the last two years had been the same day in and day out.

Occasionally, the human and her mate would take her out of the cage. Laughing, the male human would toss her up in the air or throw her to one of his friends. Maxxie, terrified of them, would grab at their hands with her teeth, but before she could bite, she would be flying through the air again. Then, it finally happened. When she bit at the hand that was holding her so tightly, she could barely breathe, Maxxie sank her teeth into the skin between the human's fingers. Yowling, the human threw her back into the cage, so hard that Maxxie slammed into the side, falling down the ramp. She carefully picked herself up and laid down on the old piece of towel. After that, no one ever took her out again. Even so, Maxxie was lonely and so alone. She knew one day soon that she would go to sleep and never wake up again.

A few days later, Maxxie was slowly awakened by the sound of humans talking loud and fast. She gingerly walked up the wire ramp, her feet sore from the jagged edges. There were two humans standing near the cage, looking at her. Maxxie tilted her head and tried to understand what was going on. Suddenly, the cage door was opened! A hand reached in and grabbed Maxxie around her middle, pulling her out of the cage. Fingers grabbed the skin on the back of her neck, scruffing her so she could not move while she dangled high up in the air and a long way from the floor. Were these humans going to use her as a ball again? Instead, the new human felt Maxxie's body, running a hand up her back and down her belly and on down along her thinly covered tail. The little ferret knew the human was talking to her, but she had no idea what was going on.

Abruptly, Maxxie found herself in a cardboard box with holes cut in the sides. The top of fastened so she could not get out and she skittered back and forth in the box when it began to move. She could hear the sounds of a door opening and the box being placed inside. The motor started and Maxxie felt the sensation of movement as the car pulled away from the garage she had been in just moments before. Now crouched in a corner of the box with feet braced, she tried to stay upright as the car drove down the road. A few moments later, she felt the car stop and the human get out. The door opened again and a small crack was pulled open. Into the box came a sweater, smelling strongly of human scent. Maxxie did not care and she quickly moved onto the sweater where she did not slid around as badly as she did on the slick cardboard. Burrowing into the material, with only her nose showing, Maxxie wondered what would happen next.

A long time later, an hour by human time, the car finally came to a stop. As the door opened once again, Maxxie shivered in fear, not knowing what was going on. She felt the box move and tilt a bit, as the human walked up a set of steps into a house. The box was gently set down on a floor. Maxxie, still afraid to move a single muscle, could smell many strange scents and some almost seemed to be like her own. Other noises could be heard, the sound of water running, the smell of food - nothing like she had ever smelled before. The odor was puzzling, but Maxxie felt she should know what it was. However, it was not like anything she could remember.

Quickly, the top of the box was opened and Maxxie was once again picked up by the new human. Once again, the human clicked and clucked as she ran her hand over the skimpy fur on the ferret, feeling fur adhered so tight to the skin that it barely moved. Frustrated by how near death the little creature was, she murmured repeatedly, "It will be ok, Maxxie Margaret. It will be ok." Near starvation was the only reason for the sad shape the creature was in and the human would try to save this tiny ferret.

The next thing Maxxie knew, she was placed into another cage, but nothing like the one she had lived in for two years. There were covered ramps that led up to platforms high above her head. The bottom of the cage was filled with a plush fleece blanket in one corner and a litter box, filled with sweet smelling pellets in another. New bowls were fastened in another corner, each side-by-side with one filled with fresh water and the other that Maxxie could not recognize. It had the same smell she had first noticed when the new human had brought her inside the house.

Carefully, the now weakened ferret nosed around the fleece blanket and little by little, approached the bowls. Taking a sip of water, Maxxie knew she had never tasted anything so good. Looking at the other container, filled with brown nuggets, Maxxie carefully picked up one to taste it. It was food! Instinctively, Maxxie realized it was made of meat and that was what she craved. First one nugget disappeared, then another. Maxxie ate slowly, savoring the taste of her first real meal since she was a kit.

Finally full for the first time, Maxxie explored the rest of the cage. Walking carefully up one of the ramps, she found the platform covered in more soft material. She realized that her feet did not hurt when she walked on it. Then, in one of the corners, Maxxie spied something she had never seen. It was oval in shape and covered in yarn. Picking it up, she heard something rattle inside of it. Dropping it, she walked around the strange object, poking it with her nose, and hearing the sound of a bell gently ringing inside. Again, she picked it up. Giving it a good shake with her head, the egg clamored with the sweet peal of the bell. Maxxie marveled at her new toy.

All of a sudden, the little ferret saw something else very strange. Hanging from the top of the cage was a bed. Hooked at all four corners, the hammock hung at just the right height for Maxxie to step into it. Carefully, one foot at a time, she eased her body onto the material. Satisfied that it was not going to fall, she stretched out her legs and rolled around the fleece. Nothing had ever felt so good to her body. This was not anything like the hard piece of material bunched up into the corner of the old cage.

Maxxie finally crawled out of the hammock, but gave it a last look. She knew she would be back to see it again. Again, taking her time, she walked back down the ramp and nosed around the fleece blanket. It had been folded a couple different times and Maxxie slithered into one of the folds. Oh my, what a feeling it gave her. Soft, cuddly, the fleece seemed to wrap around her tired body. As she started to drift off to sleep, Maxxie finally realized that things were different. She had no idea how different it would be.

Maxxie slept all night long. When she finally woke up the next morning, she almost had a fright when she didn't realize where she was at first. Then, she remembered "the change". Poking her nose out of the blanket, she saw the new human - her human - walking around another cage. In that cage were other animals. What were they? The human was filling their food bowls and getting fresh water in long tubes that hung outside the cage. She would pick one of the animals up and hold it close to her face, talking and petting as she did so. Maxxie walked over to the corner nearest these strange beings and sniffed the air. These creatures were the source of what she had smelled last night, the same smell that seemed to be almost like her own smell.

All that day, Maxxie made several trips up the ramp to the hammock, first to nap and then to play with her new toy. She carried her new egg up and down the ramp with her, wherever she would go. She ate the food and drank the water and it seemed that it would never run out. Yet, every little while, she would go to the corner near the other cage to watch and listen. When she saw the new human enter the room, Maxxie slowly backed over and into the blanket. Although the human had not hurt her, Maxxie was still very much frightened that something could happen. Better to be safe than sorry, so she stayed hidden under the fleece.

All of a sudden, she heard the door to her cage being opened. She smelled the scent of fresh food and water being put into her bowls. Only, what was this? The smell of the creatures in the other cage quickly became very strong. Maxxie peeked out from under the blanket. There, in front of her, was a huge furry beast and it was coming towards her! The little ferret did not know what to do. First, she ran up the ramp to the hammock, but that thing followed her. So, she then ran down to the bottom and the huge beast was still right behind her!

Scared to death, Maxxie knew she only had one choice. Fight back. Baring her teeth, she rushed at the big fellow and bit him on the neck. The other animal just shook her off and tried to smell her feet. Startled, Maxxie next jumped and grabbed him by the ear. The big buff colored brute raised his paw and scratched Maxxie to the floor - and then laid on her! The little ferret squealed and hissed and tried to scratch and bite herself away from him. The fat bully just stretched out even more, with Maxxie stuck underneath, now barely able to breathe, when she felt something in her ear. The animal was washing her ears, his rough tongue cleaning out every crease and crevice! Then he was washing her face and all Maxxie could do was lay there and take the unwanted grooming, like it or not. Except, Maxxie decided it wasn't really so bad, this animal that did look a little like her, cleaning her fur and giving her a ferret bath.

Maxxie relaxed for just one second, when all of a sudden, the brute gently grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and dragged her around the cage. Angry and spitting mad, Maxxie tried again to bit the creature who dared to do this to her. However, when Maxxie realized that fighting did little good, she gave up. The animal finally stopped pulling her around and then continued to lick her fur, using only one paw to hold her down. Maxxie soon decided that was just fine. After all, it did feel good and the big dude hadn't even bitten her once for as many times as she had bitten him. Giving a big sigh, Maxxie relaxed.

The other ferret, called Stormy by the human, felt the little ferret give herself over and he gently lay down next to her, curling his big furry body around the small, shivering skinny one. He knew time would make things right for the new little ferret. Her fur would become fluffy and would change into a new bright cinnamon color. Her face would have a white mask and all four legs would be covered in a light red fur. Her tail would regain all its missing hair and she would be a beautiful ferret. Maxxie Margaret would fill out and gain weight with the good food. She would be ok. After all, she had just been rescued.