Re.  Pat Patterson's citation of an article stating that a ferret killed a
2-year-old child: I have collected many articles on ferrets and the
dangers of pets (most from JAVMA, going back to 1980), due to having lived
in the very ferret-hostile city of Minneapolis, MN.  If I remember
correctly - perhaps from a FML article - that case was under investigation
because of the possibility of child and/or animal abuse.  The idea is that
the ferret may have been abused horribly by the family, and the child
might have been as well, thus the case might not be as clear-cut as "the
ferret killed the child." Anyone know anything about the findings?  I'd
hate to think that a child's death might have been blamed on an animal
when perhaps some family members might have had something to do with it,
directly or indirectly.  (Insert typical statements here about watching
animals with children and vice versa, the relative higher danger of dogs,
etc.)
 
I'm living in a suburb of Mpls.  right now (St.  Louis Park - great for
ferrets so far!), and searching for 8 in 1 ferret food.  I found one
place in Robbinsdale that carries it - any Twin Citian FMLers see it
elsewhere?  How about the Chicagoans - I'm moving there soon.  I feed a
blend of Totally Ferret and Iams kitten now, and am constantly looking
for foods my ferrets might like.  I'm trying to fatten Randall up after
his spring weight loss, and thought that raisin coating might really
encourage him to eat (though his appetite is fine - thanks, Dr.
Williams, for calming the fears of a worried ferret mom).  I saw the
article in Modern Ferret #1, and also saw how young Mary is!  She and her
husband (?  SO?  whatever) are quite the young entrepreneurs, it seems -
impressive.  :)
 
BTW, when do growth spurts tend to happen in under 1-year-old ferrets?
Rocko is anywhere from 2-6 weeks older than Randall, and I suddenly
noticed that he's huge in comparison - maybe 1/4 to 1/3 bigger, and
certainly heavier.  They were the same size back in November, and
Randall used to be larger.  I'd worried Randall would bully Rocko,
but it seems that Rocko, being my first, was determined to be alpha
ferret.  Rocko should be about 1 year old now.  Could it be just a
natural size difference, or will Randall suddenly get huge?  They're
both neutered (MF), and the same length (16" tip of nose to base of
tail), but different heights and girths.
 
Happy ferreting to all,
Denise, plus Rocko (~1 year old chocolate point? male) and Randall
  (~11 mo. old sable male), and Grumpy (~1.5 year old teddy bear
  hamster - rather scared of Rocko's recent hamster-cage-climbing
  and attempts to get in...)
 
 /\\    ____  ,^-o,  Denise Voskuil - [log in to unmask]
   ``-,'    `-';~~   Brain: "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
     .',-'~`../'     Pinky: "I think so, Brain, but if we didn't have
      `~~    `~~       ears we'd look like weasels." ("Animaniacs")
"Ferrets are kittens with leather jackets and no fear!" - John Reed
[Posted in FML issue 1151]