A word of advice to those who are getting worried when introducing a new
ferret to another or a group, and after a couple of weeks it still isn't
going well: Give it more time.  Our boy Jake is alpha ferret and can take a
full 6 weeks to get fully comfortable with a new addition.  He can be
especially bitter about the new addition for 2, sometimes 3 weeks with only
minor improvements.  Then we start seeing major improvements with the
occassional relapse to remind everyone who's boss till you would think they
had known each other their whole life.  It takes a bit of management to keep
the stress level down for everyone, especially when our sweet, accepting,
middle boy Buckie takes a cue from Jake on a whim and decides to assert his
middleness after having gained the newbie's trust.  But it always works out
in the end.  Heck, my cats' relationship with the "newbie" cat (we've had
her 3 years) is still evolving.
 
Shelly
(SC Ellis-Blackwell)
[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2153]