My name is John Neff and my wife Debbie and I have a two year old Sable male
named "Mischief".  This little guy has been with us since he was about 8
weeks old and has taught us alot about everything having to do with keeping
ferrets.  One of the things that he taught us early on is that he loves to
dig, both in potted plants and carpet.  We solved the plants problem with
either re-locating them to higher stands or placing a fine wire screen
around the lip of the pot and over the dirt.  The carpet problem was solved
by placing aluminum thresholds under all bedroom doors.  This was the only
place he dug in the carpets.  I guess he thinks that he can make the opening
larger by digging away the carpet so he can get his belly under the door.
He has shown that he also likes to get in the furniture and beds by making a
hole in the liner and climbing in.  Now for the questions.  In the last two
to three months he has really mellowed out.  He actually likes to be held
and will even crawl up in our laps in the evening for some loving.  Is this
normal for a ferret of is age?  If so what is it caused by?  Puberty?  Lack
of?  The other question involves on of the other many pets we have, our cat.
His name is Quixotie and is about the same age as Mischief.  They are best
friends an have been since we picked up Quixotie from the people at Animal
Rescue.  Sometimes when they play, Mischief will bite Quixotie hard enough
to break the skin.  This will always result in a bad infection that will
stay with him for about 1 1/2 weeks.  We have taken Quixotie to the vet and
they will give him anti-biotics, but they do little if anything for the
wound.  Is there something in ferret saliva that causes this reaction or is
my cat just sensitive to infection?  Any help you can give would be most
greatly appreciated.  John and Debbie.
[Posted in FML issue 1483]