Just a few comments on various posts over the past two days: 1. Re: ferrets and cats - I have both, the ferrets were there first. There was a dominance struggle and their interactions were closely supervised initially (only common sense when introducing any new critters - including the small human kind) until I was assured they had worked out a truce. They never became "friends" (I could bore you with my theories there, but won't) but they don't ever attack or try to hurt each other. I have had the problems mentioned in one post with "sharing" litter boxes and food though and this is what I did: the ferret room (my bedroom) has a screen door with the bottom half covered by plexiglass with a ferret-sized hole - the cats can't get in to eat the ferret food but the ferrets don't see it as a closed door so don't dig at it; I feed my cats twice daily rather than ad lib, so there's usually not cat food around for the ferrets to snack on; I put plastic carpet protector beneath/around the litter boxes which makes cleaning up ferret "accidents" and loose cat litter much easier; I also put the heavy duty kind beneath doorways that ferrets like to dig at to protect the carpet; I've used plastic boxes with lids and ferret-sized holes as litter boxes that the cats can't get into. 2. Re: ferrets and mice - in short, it's advisable to prevent your domestic animals from interacting with wild rodents for a number of reasons including: if your ferret eats a poisoned mouse, your ferret could be poisoned; if the rodent bites or scratches your ferret, the wounds could get infected; the rodent could be rabid or have parasites that could affect your ferret. That being said, I realize you can't prevent interactions you don't see. 3. Re: fleas - When living in Galveston, TX (flea and mosquitoe paradise) I had a company called Flea Busters treat my carpets with what I recall as a mix of diatomaceous earth and boric acid. They have a machine that pounds it deep into the carpet. I never saw a flea (or cockroach) after that and my ferrets suffered no reaction to the treatment (note they were out of the house during application because it is dusty during the procedure). 4. Re: vet costs - it varies greatly by region and clinic so your best bet is to ask your local vets what they typically charge but, in my experience: adrenal surgery at $400 - $1200 (the latter was a quote from a "designer" clinic); blockage removal about $500, routine vaccinations with check-up $35-50, blood profile $65-120, x-rays $60-90, ultrasound $120-200. I was the person who posted about my now 8 year old ferret costing me about a dollar a day when all costs (including food, toys, etc. and two recent surgeries) were averaged over her lifespan so far. And I do consider that a very small price to pay for all she gives me in return. But I also wish I'd had the foresight to start a savings account in her name the day I got her! If only I'd put away as little as $30/month (probably the equivalent of what I spend on 20oz bottles of diet Coke from the vending machine at work), the credit card companies wouldn't be my beneficiaries. And that's my 2 cents. -Tammy [Posted in FML issue 3104]