To All,
     Our two new ferrets (Q-Tip & Peanut) have recently hit the contrary
teen years while the mature Bandit (2 years) looks on benevolently and
slightly stupidly.
 
Scenario:
     Notice the Ferret cage and in particular their litter has the
"not-so-fresh" smell.  Think, AGAIN!  I just changed it 8 hours ago.
     Empty litter pan, add fresh litter, leave some "samples" so the guys
will have a scent to go to, clip back in cage.  Notice their food dish is
getting empty, refill.
    Both ferrets go to litter box and think, <say in a flat voice> "Must ...
dig ... to China!" Change places and then Peanut goes to the food bowl and
proceeds to toss its entire contents (well, almost all) out of the food dish
by nosing around strongly or if that doesn't work, taking both paws and
proceeding to scatter the food through-out the cage.
    Peanut and Q-Tip then seem to be pleasantly surprised that there is
food: in their bed, on the floor, in the litter, out of the cage, and oh
yeah, some in the actual dish.
 
Both of us find this a very frustrating and EXPENSIVE set of habits.
Frustrating because the kids will get all covered with litter which they
shake off, but crumbs stay in their coat.  And by transitive principle,
they get that "not-so-fresh" smell.
 
Expensive because I KNOW they have tossed the equivalent of 1/2 bag of
food onto their floor and is no longer usable.
 
Anyone else have ferrets with these traits
 
Robert: Dad & Disciplinarian:
Andrea: Mom & Softie
Bandit: Stupid, cuddly, and well-trained
Q-Tip:  The white stalker and devious mind of the bunch
Peanut: Heh heh heh heh heh, boy this is fun!
 
        --Robert M. Fein
These are my opinions alone.  Nobody else can have them!
"Never anger a dragon, for you are crunchy, and you go well with Brie."
"Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your own way."
"These (systems like Windows 95) are not productivity tools, they
are personal activity generators." -- Scott McNealy (Sun Microsystems CEO)
[Posted in FML issue 1355]