The following need not be read by anyone who does not reside in the
immediate Kingston area.  It also may seem like a bit of an odd request,
until read in full.
 
Here is the situation.  My wife currently resides in Virginia and we drive
to see each other a lot.  In her last visit she brought her four ferrets
along.  We then happened to rescue a young ferret.  He got along great with
the other four but he seemed to particularly bond with the youngest of the
lot, an albino.
 
When my wife left, she took three of her ferrets but we both decided to
leave the albino behind with me to keep the new family member company.
 
Now, as I'm completing a thesis, I currently reside in a student house.
Theoretically, it is a no-pet environment.  In practice, this only becomes
an issue if other students in the house object to the pets.
 
While we have two foreign students who feel intimidated by the ferrets and
by small animals in general, most of the human residents of the house enjoy
the little furries provided they are not a hassle.  Nonetheless, I have
tried to keep my little friends as low profile as possible.  I have
thoroughly ferret-proofed our living room (the only room in the whole house
which lends itself to proofing), and I usually get up around 5 or 6 AM in
order to allow the little ones out of their three-level cage and to play
with me for an hour and a half or two daily, barricaded in.  I then bring
them back to their cage and clean up the room.
 
This has worked great during the regular academic term.  However, now that
we are in exams, the living room tends to be occupied at all hours of the
day and night with people working on assignments or watching TV.  I even
tried getting up at 2 AM, same result.  Also, since my furry companions are
not supposed to be here and are only so on the sufferance of other
residents, I cannot very well ask people who are studying to leave so the
ferrets can play.
 
This is not a big problem.  Sometimes, it works to get up at 2-3 AM, and
if worse comes to worse I can take them to the local armoury, where some
folks will open one of their largest offices for me (one I already
ferret-proofed, and which I always retouch before playtime).  But I'm also
wondering if there are some ferret-loving folks in the Kingston area who
have large, ferret-proof rooms and who would welcome visitors to interact
with their own furries, under my supervision.
 
The prospective guests are both males, neutered, de-scented, and vaccined
against rabies and distemper.  Myron is the albino, roughly a year and four
months, and Cronan is the blazed silver mitt, about four months old.  He
has yet to figure how to climb a couch.  Myron, on the other hand, was born
knowing not only how to climb, but also how to get *into* and demolish from
the inside every couch in sight, other than futons.  He also can get into
spaces and holes I've never seen any other ferret fit.
 
If there are any folks in the Kingston area who are interested, please
email me.
 
Cheers,
 
Jaime
[Posted in FML issue 2892]