1. Protecting hardwood floors: Those plastic carpet runners work fine on
hardwood, too, if you want to place them under your litterboxes or in
accident-prone spots (we use them in our front room under litterboxes
when the ferrets are in there with us).  The little nubs on their bottoms
help keep them in place on wood, too.  Make sure the floors have been
well-varnished/polyurethaned to protect them that way, too, and you can
use a good hardwood floor cleaner occasionally if you keep the fuzzies
out of that room long enough for any fumes, etc, to dissipate.
 
2. Live mice=barbaric and cruel notion: I know some people are
uncomfortable with the idea of feeding live animals to their pets (I
don't know if I could do it), but the fact is, ferrets are carnivores
and this is what they would be doing to feed themselves if they were not
living all comfy cozy in our houses.  I don't think anyone who chooses to
feed their pets this way is cruel, (though I personally feel bad for the
mice), but trying to provide their pets with a more natural diet.  I
don't feel cruel myself when I have had vegetarian friends of mine try
and make me feel guilty for using my carnivore teeth to eat meat.  (I
tell them: "Just because the broccoli doesn't scream when you cut it
down doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.") ;)
 
3. Kittens and ferrets: We kitten-sat my brother's kitten for a few
weeks and CLOSELY monitored her and our adult ferrets and let them play
together.  She was very wary of them at first (it was hysterical watching
three big ferret boys swarm around the cat carrier she was sitting atop
and hissing from in a desperate attempt to get her to play with them,
notice them!  They followed her EVERYwhere!), but she warmed up to them
and had a grand old time running around with them/after them/away from
them.  I think it depends a lot on each animal's personality (my boys
would get along with anyone, I think!).  Watch them together and expose
them to each other gradually and slowly, and in most cases, I think
you'll find they will either get along great and play together, or
eventually just tolerate or ignore each other completely!  If it seem to
be getting to be too much for either party, separate them and be sure
they get the space they need when they need it.
 
My three cents!
 
-April Armstrong Campbell
 
"There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman."
-Groundskeeper Willy, "The Simpsons"
[Posted in FML issue 3937]