Hi all--
Hey Melissa, Amelia does that little *sigh* as she settles in too.  When she
does it I know for sure that she's actually going to sleep.  It is totally
cute and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy because the warm little fuzzy
seems to be saying that she loves and trusts me, with that one little
exhalation.  Cully never settles down, but he was snoring in the closet just
now ;)
 
I second Bill K's recommendation of wood stove pellets as litter-- it's what
I use too.  It's much, much cheaper than any official pellet litter, and
works just as well, or even better for my situation as it isn't perfumed
(I'm allergic to many perfume agents).  I also wanted to mention to people
whose ferrets are causing them to pull their hair out over not using the
litterbox that the reward method works well over a fairly short period of
time.  Amelia was in the process of ruining my rug when I started rewarding
her every time she used the box (incidentally, why is it that they won't use
the box if there's too much poop in it, but they'll keep adding to an
enormous pile if it's where it shouldn't be?).  Whenever I caught her about
to go somewhere improper, I plunked her in the box, and she still got the
reward.  I'd say that I've brought her from a 55% hit rate to about 75% in
three weeks, and am optimistic for the future.  Scooping the box makes a big
difference too-- I took a tip from the dog owners in the park and use
sandwich baggies to scoop out the boxes once in the morning and once at
night.  Takes a few seconds to do, makes a big difference to the ferrets.
dooks all around,
 
Regina (good thing for you you're so cute, missy)
Amelia (yes, adorable is an art)
and Cully (Zzzzz)
 
 
*********************************************
Regina Harrison
PhD Student, Anthropology
Joint Co-ordinator, AGSEM-- McGill's TA union
McGill University
Montreal, Quebec
"If that's all there is, my friends, then let's keep dancing" --Peggie Lee
[Posted in FML issue 1748]