Hello again everyone!
 
Just a quick note here.  Folks have been asking about ferret colors and
patterns.  There is a good article in the magazine Ferrets USA 2000.  I
haven't read the article yet as I lent the magazine to a friend last week,
but what I scanned looked informative and helpful.  My only wish for it
was that there were more pictures of real ferrets to show color, but the
illustrations were really good enough for me.
 
To the person who asked about feeding bones to pets in general and ferrets
in specific (Tequita, I think), yes wild cousins to our pets eat their prey
uncooked, bones and all.  It's the uncooked part that's important.  Cooked
bones, especially chicken bones, do splinter and can be very dangerous.
Uncooked bones run the risk of being contaminated with some virus or
disease, like salmonella or e-coli.  I'm sure the real experts will address
this subject and give suggestions, but I figured there was no harm in
putting in my half cents' worth.
 
Just to put things up on the FML, for folks looking for a ferret gate like
the advertised Ferret Barrier, an inexpensive alternative is to buy a piece
of plexi from a hardware store.  The bigger stores like Home Depot or
Lowe's may even have them precut.  The plexi needs to be at least 18 inches
tall and wider than your door frame.  Just bend the plexi into the door
frame and the pressure holds it in.  I use duct tape for extra hold as the
cats have been known to pop the barrier out when they jump over it (they
push off of the gate on the way over).  I also put duct tape along the top
edge so that I can see it better and can better get my arthritic knees up
over it's height.
 
And lastly, tell me I missed a show in New Jersey.  I have the worst time
remembering show schedules.  Does anyone know of a listing for ferret
shows?  I want to start going to them, and maybe, eventually start showing.
When I showed my cats, I went to the CFA show listings, and at the shows
you could always trust that the other local shows would pass out flyers.
I now have an electronic date book (I've gone geek!  I had to have a Palm
Pilot and I got a Palm III.  I love it!  I may yet become organized because
of it.) and I should be better able to keep track of shows now.  I'm not a
member of any of the ferret associations, though I would like to join one
or more.  Any info or suggestions as to which to join and why would be
appreciated.  Oh, I'm in New Jersey so shows in NJ or Pennsylvania or NY
are good for me.
 
Best of everything to everyone, hooman and fuzzy alike!
 
Anastasia Kidd and the 11 Bumbles (plus 8 Felines)
Home email: [log in to unmask]
Plainfield, NJ
[Posted in FML issue 2933]