Dooks to all, and condolences to those who have lost their beloved fuzzies.
 
For Leigh & Becky:
Hey, ferret math is inevitable.  We started with one, 29 days later had
another.  Three months later, two more.  And for Christmas my husband and
daughter got me two 5-6 week old babies!  Calvin and Suzy Derkins now
reside with Socks, Kit, Genie, & Scully!  Go for it!  The one little baby,
with the crusty eye, I'd get him rather than have someone who might not
know anything, or might mistreat him.
 
The newbies sneezed a lot when they came in, and I called our vet.  He had
me bring them in (actually wound up taking the whole crew by the time it
was over) and having them given antibiotics for their sneezing.
 
The newbies came to us because we were at the mall just before Christmas,
and the Pass Pets there had a new shipment.  I was naturally standing there
looking at them when a man and two young children asked if they could hold
one.  The babies there didn't look older than 5 weeks old.  The store
person let them hold the little one, and I held my breath.  The one child
couldn't have been over two and a half!  After the baby was put back, I was
crouched down looking at them and the little girl, maybe 5, started talking
to me.  She showed me which one she liked, and we got into a discussion
(actually I was gently telling her about how fragile the babies can be)!
She was fascinated, but then her dad called her to move on.  Why don't some
parents realize that children are listening and absorbing?  Anyway, Larry
and I went to the feed store where we've gotten all but Socks from, and
there were the two babies.  Calvin is a sable, and Suzy is a cinnamon.
 
I know there's been discussion on what personalities each color has.  I've
come to the possible realization that cinnamons are natural born "fliers"
and escape artists.  Genie, AKA the Flying Wombat, AKA Genie Houdini, will
climb or jump to anything.  She scared the tar out of us on Sunday.  She
found a clothes basket too close to the barrier and made it downstairs (3rd
attempt, this one successful).  We were all over looking for her when the
light bulb in my brain came on.  I went downstairs and found Tigger the
kitten coming out of his hiding space, which is the open area by the
dishwasher and the cabinet.  Sure enough, right behind him pops out a
cinnamon head---GENIE!  Coaxed her out and got her upstairs again, much to
her disgust and my shaking knees.  Nothing is near the barricade now, so
she has not chance of getting over it.  Suzy, also on Sunday, was playing
on the bed, beside me.  Suddenly she stopped, looked at the cage, which is
a good 2 1/2 feet from the bed, and leaped for it!  Needless to say, Suzy
didn't make it.  But I'm sure cinnamon's have little measuring tapes in
their heads which tell them what distance, flight patterns, wind
velocities.........
 
Rebecca & the other two humans
Socks (love me, give me raisins, hey--get these kids off me!)
Kit-so Calvin likes to wrestle huh?  He's easy to flip!
Scully--Oh, cool!  Flying dust bunnies!
Genie---Ok, two feet high, nobody in sight........
Calvin & Suzy--Hey, look food, water, play mates--grab the hoomans!
Tigger--I'm a ferret too, ya know---no wait, I'm a cat, no a ferret, no a
        cat
Chewie, Dribble & Sarabi-great, the kitten with the identity crisis
 
=======================
Rebecca McFarlane
Secretary
Basic Medical Sciences
School Veterinary Medicine
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN  47907-1246
Phone:   765-494-8632
Fax:     765-494-0781
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste
good with ketchup"
[Posted in FML issue 2549]