Re: plants
    I found the best way to discourage digging in the plants was to hang
them (the plants, not the ferret!) from the ceiling, or to put the plants
on a pedestal (the ferret's already on one) or similar unclimbable plant
stand.  Amelia is ever alert for the tiniest opportunity to get into a
plant, but with a bit of alertness on my part the plants remain safe.
Really big plants go on an upside-down big bucket on the floor-- the
plant's saucer works like a squirrel baffle.
 
re: what's a ferret?
    I usually tell people that they are sort of a cousin to an otter or a
mink-- the otter part is kind of true and provokes immediate good feelings,
and the mink part makes a certain type of Montreal woman more comfortable
(honestly I'm not being sexist, I'm a Montreal woman too, of age 27, but I
frequently encounter women who are freaked out by and scared of my little
sweetums and won't touch her until I mention the mink part; then they want
to pet her, and then they are ok with her).  I've never seen a mongoose
outside of Rikki Tikki Tavi, but a friend of mine currently residing in
Jamaica, which has a large resident population of mongooses (mongeese?),
says they are alot like ferrets, so that can make a good reference point
too.  I guess I just try to relate ferrets to something people have seen
before, without mentioning the w-word-- WEASEL!  :>
 
I have a question about ferrets and colds-- I'm deathly ill with a nasty
flu, and I can tell that Amelia is a bit sick too-- lower energy level,
mostly.  She's eating just fine, however, which I've assumed means that
she isn't too sick and doesn't need vetrinary care.  Her eyes are clear
and bright, fur just great, whiskers long and springy-- it's only her
lower energy level that makes me wonder.  Am I handling this correctly?
 
Thanks,
Regina (cough hack wheeze groan) and
Amelia (sniffle, mom, why are you making such strange noises?)
[Posted in FML issue 1344]