>From: "A. C. Vitale" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Ferrets & cats
>
>We're thinking about expanding our family and bringing home a kitten.
>Do any of you have experience mixing ferrets & kittens?
 
Last summer we brought home a tiny kitten we named Ernie.  We already
had two cats and two ferrets, Elliot (the larger) and Bosco.
 
Ernie was immediately afraid of the little things that were his size (or,
in Elliot's case, bigger than him) that moved so crazily.  The ferrets,
of course, wanted only to jump on him and play with him, same as they do
each other and the cats.  My husband and I would laugh hysterically as
Elliot chased Ernie, around and around until Ernie finally figured out
he could jump up onto something and escape.
 
One night my husband and Ernie were on the bed, where Ernie had leapt to
escape Elliot.  Feeling sorry for Elliot's short legs, I lifted him onto
the bed, too.  Never before had we seen such speed in a ferret: like an
on-target missile, he flew across the sheets and into Ernie, where they
both tumbled together to the floor.
 
Of course, Ernie has since outgrown the ferrets but still plays with
them.  Now when he gets tired of playing, he places a paw on the ferret's
head, temporarily immobilizing him. :)
 
It's a crazy household, but we love it!
 
Laura
[Posted in FML issue 3777]