> I just read todays post(Thur.) and was a little bothered by the suggestion
> of Soft Paws...a vinyl nail cover.  I don't think that this is > something
> that should be used on ferrets for many reasons.  Mainly, they > would
> probably chew it off and swallow it( causing umpteen million > problems)...
 
   I would recommend VERY strongly AGAINST using Soft Paws.  When we first
got Hobbes, we used them on her [I know Hobbes should be a "he", but we
always thought she looked like Calvin's tiger] to keep her from tearing
up stuff.  One night though (when she was still pretty young) she went to
her feeder for a midnight snack and somehow got her nail caught in the
metal of the feeder.  She got startled and pulled away and started
screaming.  By the time I could jump up out of bed she had torn the nail
off...  what a nightmare...  I still cringe when I think about it.
 
   Not to leave you with that nasty story, and since this is my first reply
to the list, I'll tell you about one of the funnier things she's done:
Just after I moved into my new house, I replaced some really gross
yellow light bulbs in the living room.  They were the small kind of
25 watt bulbs (less than an inch diameter), where you put a whole bunch
together on a chandelier.  Anyway, I set the used light bulbs on the
dining room table (about 12 of them), and I was making dinner while I let
Hobbes run around.
 
   While I was cooking, I heard a "pop/crash" sound followed by a distinctive
ferret chuckle.  I looked in the dining room and found Hobbes bouncing
excitedly around the shattered light bulb on the floor, very happy with the
event.  I figured she had either knocked it off by accident or it had rolled
off.  She stopped and looked at me: "What?  I'm not doing anything.  What?"
 
   I had to run back to the stove before I could clean it up, and 10 seconds
later I heard another implosion.  So I ran back to find Hobbes bouncing around
on the floor again, sniffing the remains.  I ran back to the kitchen again
because my food was burning, pulled it off the burner, and ran back just in
time to catch Hobbes on top of the table, picking up a lightbulb in her mouth
and running to the edge of the table.  When she got there, she let go, and the
lightbulb imploded as she looked over the edge.  Within about 5 seconds she
jumped down onto a chair to the ground chucking with glee, inspected the
damage, and started back up the chair to the table before I could catch her...
what fun!
 
Sven Liden, Seattle, WA
with Hobbes (2 yr old sable, who has overcome this traumatic experience
             to become a fearless trouble maker...)
[Posted in FML issue 1186]