Hi all!
First question, coat color-- what would you call a ferret with a black
stripe that reaches from forehead and back down the neck almost to the
shoulders?  It would have to be a white stripe to be a badger, right?
This seems to be Amelia's color of the month, whatever it is (it must be
frustrating to show these mighty morphin ferrets with the weekly fur
mutations!).  On a semi-related note, I am really enjoying the history
lessons from Bill and Bob-- personally, I'm prone to the Steppe polecat as
an ancestor for the completely unscientific reason that Amelia looks much
more like a steppe polecat than any other sort.  Also, if the steppe
polecat can interbreed with the black-footed ferret, would it make any
sense to try to beef up the b-f ferret numbers with some careful
interbreeding?  Just a thought.
 
Second thing, a comment-- be careful with plumply upholstered furniture even
if you have sealed off its insides.  While Cully's last owner (the good one,
not the abusive one) still had him, he tried to tunnel between the seat and
back of a couch.  He got stuck, and when the woman found him, he wasn't
breathing.  She did some gentle mouth to mouth and got him breathing again.
So if I had an upholstered couch, I'd make sure that either the cushions
could be easily removed by a ferret, or were somehow sealed on to prevent
tunneling.
 
Finally, Second Noah again-- no ferrets last night, except for a mention
at the end.  And that mention was mixed.  The ferrets were on a list of
things that anybody who ran the household would have to know.  The
statement was that the ferrets are prone to heatstroke (good info to give
people, esp in Florida) and to dip them in water to prevent it (definitely
more questionable advice, esp in humid florida).  Two steps forward, one
step back...
 
Regina
Amelia ("I'm a real hep steppe cat")
and Cully ("and you know, I'd stick my head down that sofa again,
given the chance")
[Posted in FML issue 1477]