>june batz <[log in to unmask]>
>Also regarding cats and ferrets, I was EXTREMELY lucky, both my cats being
>indoor cats..2yearold and a 4 yearold, never really had a well honed
>hunting instinct..they knew Chandler was not a cat, they always hiss at
>cats, then they probably thought he was prey but quickly realized PREY DOES
>NOT CHASE YOU.
 
Please someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that in general,
carnivores don't hunt other carnivores, except in special circumstances,
such as starvation.  They have been known to kill one another in the wild
in compitition for resources, but I believe that the meat of a carnivore is
flavored very differently than the meat of a herbivore.  That is why most
humans don't eat any carnivores, either.
 
As far as ferrets and cats go, I have a poor old persian, 10 years old, who
is way too old to really like any new animals in the house.  But I have
found that the ferrets are less stress on her than other cats or dogs.  She
mostly ignores them, and when they do come up and try to taste her fur, she
just smacks them in the head, playing 'ferret-head basketball', since she
has no claws (lol).  They just step back, looking startled and then go
'Cool, that was fun!  She wants to PLAY!'.  She then jumps higher than they
can go, and all is calm again.  I've never worried that either will
seriously hurt the other.
 
Happy Dooks and dancing to all!
Sherry
[Posted in FML issue 2518]