6.8.2026
On Sunday, August 2nd, a litter of six large kits was born to us – finally! Ketku had started labor in the morning, and I realized what was happening around 9:30 AM when I got up and went to check if I could hear any squeaking from the ferret room. Sure enough, I could, and Ketku was still in the middle of giving birth. After six live kits, three more – fully developed but stillborn – followed; they had likely died because the labor took so long due to the kits’ large size. The birth of the final kit didn’t seem to be progressing at home, so we headed to the Linnunmäki veterinary clinic, planning for a C-section. At the clinic, Ketku received subcutaneous fluids and oxytocin, though the latter didn’t seem to have an effect at first. We agreed with the attending vet to proceed with surgery, but fortunately, the last kit popped out before the doctor could administer the sedative. Ketku had an ultrasound just to be safe, and the vet and I palpated her abdomen together. We concluded that there were no more kits left. Ketku received another oxytocin injection for the trip home, and once there, she was able to focus undisturbed on caring for her litter. Ketku has been an exemplary mother, and the kits are growing rapidly.
After the previous pregnancy ended tragically, I hadn’t breathed a word to hardly anyone about this second attempt. Ketku went back into heat just a couple of days after the “birth,” and reached her peak heat within a week. There are several photos documenting the growth of the belly during pregnancy; I will add them to the dedicated photo album for the litter and include at least the most recent photo of the pregnant belly on the litters-page.
8.2.2026
I finally got time to edit the overall look of the website and publish all the pages that are ready. There’s probably going to be some updates later, but most of the work is now done!
Our ferrets are doing good and we are waiting for Ketku to start her heat. Karma already started hers and she will get hormone injection soon to stop the heat, as we don’t plan to breed her this year. Both Ketku and Konna will have their health checks done before breeding. We will do at least blood panel and x-rays.