Hi ferret friends!
 
Hope everyone is having a happy day.
 
I've had a couple things to say in the past, but mostly I just lurk...
This time, I've got a funny story or two to tell and two questions.
 
I'm constantly amazed at the reasoning ability and cunning of ferrets. I've
got two examples that I thought were particularly amusing.
 
The first comes from when Sasquatch was only about one.  He was kept mostly
in my room, although he was often let out to romp.  We used to play a game
where I would sit in the doorway and he would try to get past me.  Sometimes
he would "escape" and happily scamper around.  Usually I would catch him as
he tried to dive, or often, saunter casually by hoping I wouldn't notice.
When I caught him, we would roughouse a bit and I would toss him onto the
bed a few feet away.  He would bounce around dooking merrily and wardancing,
and dive off the bed to come back for more.
 
Well, one day he must have really wanted out and decided that I was giving
him a hard time.  I tossed him on the bed, and he hopped around and started
to come back.
 
Suddenly, he froze. He looked around.
 
He turned and looked at me with a strikingly intelligent gaze.
 
He ran and made an unprecedented leap onto my desk, and gleefully started
scattering papers, knocking over glasses of juice, and shoving things off
onto the floor in a cloud of mayhem.
 
I sprang to my feet.  "Why you little @#%*@!!" I ran over to catch him, but
he had obviously thought this through, because his timing was perfect and he
was out the door behind me before I knew it...chuckling to himself on his
way down the hall.
 
Our other fert, Yeti, has a glow-in-the-dark ball that he loves to hide
under the bed.  We play with it for a bit, and off he goes... Usually the
door to the bedroom is open and he trundles along with this 3" ball, up the
step and into the bedroom.  He returns looking pleased.  When the door is
shut, there is a 2" gap below it that the boys have no trouble getting
under.  Stacey and I almost wet ourselves the other day when Yeti tried to
put his ball away with the door closed.  He hopped up the step, ball in
mouth, and tried to stuff it under the door.  It bounced back down the step
and stopped.  He stared down at it for a few seconds, looking upset.  He
brought the ball back up and cunningly tried to stuff the ball under the
right hand side of the door, where the gap is slightly larger.  Once again,
it bounced back down the step and stopped.  He stared down at it for a few
more seconds, looking upset.  He retrieved his ball, went under the door,
and tried to reach under and pull it through.  The ball bounced back down.
The poor guy just kept trying and trying.  Finally, we recovered from our
laughing enough to open the door and let him through.  He wanted it so much,
and was so clever, but just couldn't realize that there was no way to get a
3" ball through a 2" gap.  Now, occasionally, late at night, usually in the
middle of a particularly nice dream, the sound of a ball bouncing off the
bedroom door and down the step can be heard.  Over, and over, and over,
until one of us gets up to open the door, yawning, for a very determined and
pleased looking little furball.
 
Lastly, I've got a couple questions for those in the know.  I've been using
the clumping litter with my fuzzy, Sasquatch, since I got him 6 yrs ago, and
with Yeti who is now 1.  I've never had a problem, but after hearing so much
on the topic, I am considering switching to the newspaper pellets or
something else, and I am wondering if anyone might be able to give me an
indication of how hard it typically is.  We have a running battle over this
with them as it is...
 
My other question deals with Totally Ferret.  I've *finally* found a place
that sells it.  I seem to remember seeing mention here that Totally Ferret
needs to be refrigerated.  I've read the bag, and it recommends replacing
the food daily, but I don't see anything about refrigeration.  It seems
reasonable that it might need to be refrigerated, but if it doesn't I'd
rather store it in my big metal food canister by the cage than fill my
'fridge with stinky tupperware laden with TF.
 
Any ideas or info would be appreciated. Thanks all! Have a dook filled day!
 
Jason (Oh, no. not the ball again.)
Stacey (It's your turn at the door.)
Sasquatch (Where are all the raisins, anyway?)
Yeti (I WILL put my ball away!)
[Posted in FML issue 1634]