There are few problems with our new living arrangement.  Dervish cannot be
loose in the house, which is hard because she's used to having complete
free reign.  The first day I had her in the living room on her leash, and
she got under the couch and wouldn't come out.  So now her downstairs
romping is limited to the leash and in my arms.  When she's down there,
she'll cuddle up with me; she never used to settle down with me unless she
was half-asleep.  Is a slight behavioral change like that normal in a new
home?  I was thinking she was staying close because of the strange people
in the room.
 
The cats haven't posed a problem.  Our 15-year-old alpha cat, Muffin (who
has seen three other cats enter our home) sniffed for a while, then licked
Derv once, and went back to sleep.  Cupcake stared, and hissed once.  Bad
Cat is our predator, a former feral cat, and the one I was most worried
about.  Turns out she's *scared* of little one-pound Dervish.  She sits
about three feet from the cage and stares, but runs away if I pick her up
and move her closer.  She'll hop from place to place, and Dervish will
follow.  As far as she knows, Bad Cat is just a huge, funny-looking
ferret! :-)
 
Dervish has also learned a new trick.  There's a trash can right next to
my door.  She hides behind it, slinks out and scratches the carpet, then
retreats to safety when I advance on her.  It's like that arcade game where
the thingies pop up and you have to hit them with a hammer.  (Of course,
I'm not hammering her, just trying to pick her up!)
 
On the upside, my room is full of papers and magazine piles and boxes for
her to play in; it's so funny to see her little fuzzy butt sticking out of
something new she's discovered.  There's also a clearer bedroom we can play
in.  For a temporary situation, it's not bad.
 
And this is a bit off-topic, but still.  Last night I had a dream that I
took Dervish to Disney World (couldn't have been DisneyLand in CA :-/), and
that we went on the Peter Pan ride.  I let her ride alone, so she was on
the little boat behind mine.  Of course, she got away, but I couldn't get
off the ride to go get her.  And when I got off, there was no way back
into the ride.  Oy, Dervish is making her way into my dreams!!
 
-(TX) Meghan and Dervish the (Cat-Chasing) WonderFerret
 
p.s.  Thanks to everyone who wrote me about soy milk.  I had no idea there
were so many vegetarians on the list!  Y'all's support has really helped!
However, after an employee at the health food store saw me trying to keep
Dervish from snorkling in the bulk food (she didn't, don't worry, just
tried to get at it from the bag I carry her in) ... well, we sort of have
a bit of a reputation.
[Posted in FML issue 2548]