As to what kinds of dog breeds go well with ferrets, when I'm living at
home (I'm away at school right now), I have a large golden retriever who
loves everybody, including Illura.  I think goldens and labs, breeds that
get along well with people and other animals and, also have an instinct
to retrieve objects that don't move rather than a strong chase instinct,
are a good bet for getting along with ferrets.  Ruby the dog plays with
Illura the ferret the same way she plays with Max the little black cat--
recognizing that they're smaller than she is and need to be dealt with more
gently than sh'ed play with another dog.  Illura plays back more than Max
does, tho-- the two have made up a game with each other that's absolutely
adorable.  Illura runs under the bed and Ruby lies down with just her nose
sticking under the bed.  Little ferret bounces up and nips her on the nose,
dog jumps up, looks at me, looks at her, wags her tail wildly, and lies
back down with her nose under the bed for another round.  I've seen them
keep this up for half an hour straight.  Of course, ferrets will try to
play with everything and everyone-- Illura loves to jump up and grab Ruby's
fluffy tail.
 
Cats: Like I've heard from a lot of people on the list, my personal
experience has been that the ferret bothers the cat more than the other
way around.  The first time Illura and Max met, Illura of course wanted to
play.  Max didn't know what to make of this funny, bouncing little creature
that didn't run away from him.  He skipped away from her, tapped at her a
couple of times (claws sheathed), and ran away from *her*!  Illura kept at
him, and Max for the most part just avoided these mustelid attentions as
best he could-- I think he found it highly undignified.
 
>Is there a ferret litter out there that is good for their health,
>smells good and is easy to scoop up?
 
Try recycled newspaper pellets.They're really great for odor control and
don't make any dust at all.  The brand I get is called PaPurr, it's made
from waste paper from the paper mills around here so it's really cheap ($4
for a 20-pound bag!) but I think you can only get it in Wisconsin.  There's
also Yesterday's News, which you can get anywhere.  again, sorry so long!
 
Rachel and Illura
[Posted in FML issue 2993]