One of the things I love about having ferrets is that they are always doing
something new and different.  Just when I think that I know every possible
mischievious thing they can do, they come up with something new.  Friday
night they suprised me with 2 new 'tricks'.
 
The first incident involved Hershey and a magazine.  For some reason,
Hershey just had to have this magazine that was on the coffee table.
Actually, his brother ET was also interested at first.  Both boys are big
enough to stand on their hind legs and get their heads and front legs up on
the table.  Because the table is smooth and slippery, they can not pull
themselves up on it though.  So, first they would stand up and try to grab
the magazine with their teeth.  When I finally had it positioned so they
could not reach it from any side of the table, they started climbing on the
sofa and trying to jump to the table.  They could almost make it, and I was
afraid they would hurt themselves, so I moved the table further away from
the sofa.  ET knew how to foil this attempt at keeping them from the
magazine - he immediately pushed some sofa cushions on the floor, climbed on
them, and started to climb up on the coffee table.  I was trying to watch
the news on TV, and so I took the desired magazine and put it on the table
in our front foyer.
 
The table in the foyer is lond and narrow, and sits along one wall.
Midget's cage fits under it perfectly, and so that is where her cage is
kept.  Hersh saw me put the magazine on this table, and so while ET lost
interest, and went off to do something else, Hersh went into the foyer, and
started walking back and forth, looking up at the table.
 
I was seated about 15 feet away, and could see everthing he did perfectly.
After a while, he started pushing Midget's cage away from the wall, and
trying to get behind it.  Since the boys frequently do this (I think they
are convinced the back of the cage has a secret door that they could use to
get into the cage, if they could just find it), I didn't think much about
it.  He would get between the wall and the cage, and push it out, and then
come around to the front and look at it.  Then, he would start the process
over.  Finally he climbed on top of the cage, and I realized what he was
trying to do.
 
The first time up, he walked across the cage to the front, and looked up.
Apparently, the cage was not far enough forward yet, because he got down and
pushed it forward some more.  Then, he climbed back on top and walked to the
front again.  This time he was able to stand up on his hind legs and get his
front paws on the table.  He could not pull himself up on the table, but he
could reach his prized magazine.  He grabbed it and jerked it onto the
floor, quickly jumped down himself, and started dragging it off to the
bedroom.  Of course, I was immediately on my feet and apprehended him.  I
told him he was very clever, but he still couldn't have my magazine.
 
Shortly after that it was time for my furry children to go to their cages
for the night, so I could go to bed.  I had found and caged everyone except
Jazzy, and started looking in every hiding place I knew they had.  Although
she is much larger now then she was several weeks ago, she is still pretty
small, and so she actually has some places only she can get into.  But try
as I might, I couldn't find her.  My son arrived home from his date, and
helped me for a while, but still no luck.  He finally gave up and went to
bed, and I continued searching alone (my SO is out of town).  It was getting
very late, and I was getting very tired.  I knew she had to be somewhere in
the house - I had last seen her about the time the magazine incident
started.  I was just worried she had gotten trapped somewhere, and could be
hurt.  I was trying to decide if I should go to bed and leave her loose or
not.  I was afraid that although I was tired, I would worry and not be able
to sleep.  I was in the kitchen, and noticed some white fuzz sticking out
from under the kitchen table leg.
 
We have a kitchen table that is a reproduction of early American tables with
one big leg in the center.  On the real tables the leg is solid wood, and I
had never checked ours carefully.  Now I got down on the floor to check this
out.
 
There was a very small space between the floor and the bottem of the leg
(the leg is held up by 4 feet).  I stuck a finger under the leg, and found
it was hollow inside.  Also, Jazzy had somehow crawled into the area, and
was curled up asleep.  I nudged her awake, and lured her out with some
NutriCal.  She had to struggle a little to get out, so I am hoping she
doesn't try this again.
 
At least now I could go to bed and not worry.
Ya jus gotta luv those fuzzbutts.
Dooks to all
Danee DeVore
Hershey (But Mom, I want to read it)
ET (Ok, you win, I'll go do something else.)
Jazzy (Rats, you found me)
and the other 4 - Midget, Sassy and Buster
[Posted in FML issue 1679]