Melinda---thanks for your letter to the FML.  I agree with you totally; I
couldn't feel right if I left my house with my ferrets running free in
it...I'd be drenched in a cold sweat of fear all the time I was away,
simply because I know my ferrets and what they're capable of!  Like you
said, ferrets are not cats or dogs, and they are certainly not wild animals
who can survive on their own if they get outside.  Ferrets are domesticated
pets who rely on us to keep them fed, comfortable, clean, and loved, and,
beyond that, SAFE, because they are also domesticated pets who possess an
intense inherited instinct for Getting Into and Getting Out Of, far beyond
that of any other household pet I've ever heard of.  It's up to us to
understand them as they are (rather than imposing our own standards and
desire for "freedom" on them) and to ensure their well-being.  I'm truly
glad for, and envy, the people who have the necessary set-ups in their
homes so that their ferrets can safely run free at all times.  As for me,
I've learned so much, from the FML and my own experiences, about all the
things that can happen to ferrets in apartments or houses, even under a
close eye, that I'll always feel better about putting them in their cage
when I can't be with them.  And, yes, as another FML member said, they DO
consider their cage to be home after a long playtime.  (Do the FML posters
who automatically equate any ferret cage to a human prison also equate
coming home after a long day at work to going to jail?)
[Posted in FML issue 2404]