To Tracy, Re the hacking ferret...
We had some trouble with this.  A couple of possible (but by no means
an exhaustive list) causes are:
 
(1) Litter: our Winston got nasty runny eyes and a bad hack from some kind
of "scoopable" litter, and then again from some litter with amonia or
something in it.  Got a good litter and lost the hack.
 
(2) Could be a cold of some kind: since he's eating and playing normally,
this seems unlikely.  (Don't worry about the PLAY! [Lie Down] PLAY! [Lie down]
thing: perfectly normal behaviour)
 
(3) Hair-balls.  If the ferret is shedding or if you notice a lot of loose
hair around the house, he might be getting it stuck in his throat.  Try a
hair-ball laxative made for cats.  Any other ideas, hack-hack?
 
Love,
Otter
 
[Posted in FML issue 0687]