Thanks to everyone who responded to my question about mince meat.  I gather
there was some confusion as to what exactly minced meat is (amazing how it's
the little things that remind you that our backgrounds are different!) -
well, for those of you who didn't know what I was talking about, it's the
minced up stuff that you use in tacos, or to make hamburger patties, or
spaghetti bolognaise.  Jarrod suggested that perhaps in the US it's called
ground beef?  Especial thanks to Graham for the in-depth info about feeding
ferrets on meat in general - I figured that meat is what they would
generally eat in the wild, but completely forgot about bones, fur etc!
Makes sense, really - animals are not wasteful creatures, and generally
consume the entire kill (unlike us humans, who only eat the best bits!)
 
My father in law is English, he was a boy during WW2, and used to hunt
ferrets to supplement the family's meat rations with fresh rabbit.  He has
some interesting stories to tell - apparently, while ferret hunting wasn't
illegal, poaching on crown land (which is what he did) was a different
matter.  If you were caught poaching, they could fine you and confiscate all
your hunting gear - but they weren't allowed to take your ferrets away.
Both of our little girls come from hunting stock, but neither of them had
been hunted when we got them, being very young, and they seem to have
adjusted fine to the lazy life of the indoor housepet!  My father owns a
farm, and Australian farmers have a notorious problem with rabbit
infestations, so he's willing to let us try hunting our little girls - but
we're not sure that we really want them to get a taste for the kill - might
put our toes in even greater danger!
 
Anyway, someone (can't find the issue now!) was asking about ferrets digging
in their litter tray a few days ago.  We had the same problem, tried not
cleaning to remind the littler girls that it was for pooping, not digging -
but being the fastidious little creatures they are, they refused to poop in
a dirty tray and went on the carpet instead!  Our solution has been to only
partially fill the tray - if there's only a little bit of litter in it, they
seem to decide that it's not worth their while to dig it up...the amount of
digging they do is directly proportionate to the amount of litter we use -
if we fill the tray up to the rim, it's guaranteed the little girls will
have a digging carnival and I'll have to terrorise them with the "long-nosed
sucky thing" again!
 
Kelleen, thanks for posting your poem about the Guardian Angel Ferrets, I
was finally able to think about Che with a smile on my face, not forgetting
the sorrow of losing her, but also remembering the joy of knowing her for a
short while.  Well, I've rambled on again, so that's enough.
 
Sophie, Sinbad aka Snugglebear, and the Milliemonster.
[Posted in FML issue 1528]