I found a great way to trim the nails of my 3 month old who does NOT like
having it done.  I had tried the ferretone on the belly method, but it just
wasn't very effective.
 
I put him in his H-type harness and attach his leash to it.  I then put him
on the floor and tie the leash off up high on a chair, with just enough
slack that he can touch the ground, but not move anywhere.  I then take a
piece of string and attach it to the leash, about half way up.  By pulling
on the string, he lifts off of the ground by the collar like he's being
scruffed.  He can breathe just fine, but he gets very still.  I loosely tie
the string off to another chair, and that leaves him dangling passively and
me with two free hands to clip his nails.  Here's a really bad diagram of
it:
 
    \
      \________ - string tied to chair
       |
       |
       |
    0-----/  ferret suspended from floor.
      /     /\
 
-------
It works better for me because I finish with my arms and hands intact, and
it's better for him because his nails don't bleed from when he jerks just as
I'm cutting.  He especially doesn't mind it if I give him a little ferretone
on his shoulder to keep him occupied.  If he really starts crying, I can let
the string loose & he can stand up for a minute & regain his composure.  I
hope you can understand what I'm describing and maybe saves some of you the
shredded limbs that I've come to associate with ferret nail trimming.
 
-----
Here's a little excerpt from an article I got from a humor mailing list.
The article was a distorted glossary of computer terminology.  I thought
everyone might enjoy it:
 
>CPU.  Central propulsion unit.  The CPU is the computer's engine.  It
>consists of a hard drive, an interface card and a tiny spinning wheel
>that's powered by a running rodent - a gerbil if the machine is a 286,
>a ferret if it's a 386 and a ferret on speed if it's a 486.
 
I think my Cedric on a calm day could outdo a Pentium Pro... : )
 
Bill and Cedric
[Posted in FML issue 1468]