I have a question.  My husband and I have 2 ferrets and no children.  People
keep telling us that when we have kids we should not keep the ferrets for
various reasons.  These range from things like ferrets are supposedly
jealous of babies [to this I say I was jealous of my little brother when he
was born and I'm glad no one got rid of me :)] to ferret poop is lethal to
babies.  To me, these things sound more like rumors than fact.  We are not
expecting a child yet or anything, but even when we do, I do not want to
give up my babies.  They are just as much a part of our family as any
person.  This is really bothering me.  If anyone has any *substantiated*
information on this topic, or could guide me to a source that would, I would
greatly appreciate it.
 
On a lighter note, I would also like to ask that whoever was going to sew up
their couch to keep the ferrets out, could you please let us know if it
worked and how you did it?  We have had to limit the time our ferrets spend
running around the house partly because we could not keep them from climbing
up into the couch.  Any help here would be appreciated also :).
 
Also, just to put in my 2 cents worth, something that has worked for us when
clipping the ferrets' nails is putting a few drops of Ferretone on their
tummies first.  This keeps them occupied, with their attention focused on
their tummies, and we can wiggle their hands around and clip their nails and
they hardly seem to notice.  This also worked well at the vet when they had
their regular checkup and shots.  Well, we didn't put it on their tummy that
time, we just had a dropperful that I gave them as the vet was giving them
the shot.  It worked well.  Mittens didn't even seem to notice the shot and
Jasmine just flinched a little, but kept licking the Ferretone anyway.
Personally, I have been amazed at the distracting powers of Ferretone :).
 
        Well, sorry this got a little long, but I hope it helps someone.
 
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[Posted in FML issue 1635]