Re ferrets and (human) babies: we have a 15 month old and two ferrets, and
they get along quite well.  We supervise them very closely of course, and
we've had the odd nip, but we were close enough to make it an "ouch" rather
than a screaming bloodbath.  Timothy (the human) likes to grab their tails,
and they don't necessarily care for his ham-fisted pats, but he's learning
to be "gentle." And the ferrets (who are both in the three to five year old
range and therefore more docile than kits would be) can actually quiet him
when he's inconsolable: he gets giggle-fits whenever he sees them.  (We
refer to the ferrets now as Uncle Winston and Nanna, sometimes.)
 
Re little kits in cages for long weeks.  Please don't do this.  Technically,
they _will_ be "okay" in the sense that it won't kill them.  But at that age
(12 weeks), they want to run and play: it's what they do... well, not
best... it's _all_ they do!  Perhaps there is a friend who can come over
once or (better) twice a day to drag a towel around the house for an hour or
so.  Or if you're quite certain (ha!) that the room is ferret-proofed, you
could have a neighbor let them out, come back in an hour or two and recage
them.  I tend to think you really need to find another solution rather than
leave them caged all week.
 
Sue Kocher: an early welcome to the neighborhood.  I'm not a member of the
Triangle Ferret group, but they're a kind bunch of folks.
 
        Peace,
        Otter
[Posted in FML issue 1636]