In response to Melissa's queries about introducing ferrets to cats:
As lots of other people have advised, introduce the animals to each other
gradually.  However, they may be good companions for each other.
 
Two of my cats LOVE/HATE my woozle.  They love to chase her under things,
then watch intently where she went while she sneaks up behind them and
jumps on them.  Then everyone jumps straight up in the air, and some animals
chase some other animals (Ferret chases cats; cat chases other cat; cats
all chase ferret; repeat as necessary until all mammals sleep soundly.)
Sometimes the cats start the ruckus; other times the woozle is the instigator.
 
The important thing is that everyone has a safe place to retreat to if they
stop having fun.  If the Woozle starts serious biting, the cats can jump
out of her reach (on top of the fridge, china cabinet or whatever), and if the
cats start swatting too hard, the Woozle can get underneath something until
things calm down.
 
A friend of mine tells me that one of her cats killed one of her ferrets (big
cat, small ferret) when the cat bit the ferret in the neck-shoulder area. It
was an accident, but if you see a larger animal (even a cat) trying
to grab the weasel, playtime should be over.  My cats are very small (Korat
breed, the really big one weighs 10 pounds), and have no desire to get their
precious faces close to that mass of flailing Woozle teeth.
 
Good Luck!
Rebecca
 
[Posted in FML issue 0937]