pam... thank you for your response....i guess i missed a beat in my 'criteria'... LOL...'raised from kits' should include getting them as kits from breeders and/or pet stores...sorry for not thinking of that...:) also, at this time i would like to clarify something about this... i am NOT saying you should not get from shelters or rescue because there MAY be a higher occurance of illness....[which has not been shown to be true...it is just true in MY house...so far..]...this should be all the more reason to rescue or adopt!!!!...these babies NEED the extra love and care they will get in a home!!!!...a shelter only has so much time in a day...and SO MANY ferrets to care for!!!!...please find it in your hearts to give these special babies the extra love and security the so deserve and crave!!!!! i have lost 3 of the 9 i have rescued/adopted...did it hurt?...even tho i only had them for a short time?...YOU BET!!!...i was devastated!!!... would i do it again???...YOU BET!!!!...in a heartbeat!!!! just didn't want anyone to think i was saying that it was better to get one from a kit rather than adopting..this is not true...it is everyone's own situation and circumstances and chance that decides that... hope that cleared that up...:) HUGS!! kat p.s....thanks for the responses...i hope i can get some kind of comparison worked up...this is NOT my area of expertise..LOL ===== KITY=^..^=KAT... ( a.k.a. ...FuzzieMom ) and the krew... Rascal, Sassy, Wolfie, Monkey(Shine), Meeja, Narmy, PopPye, Noodles (Slyk), Sandi-Mandi, Hope-HollyHeart, Edison!, Lucky, and Princess!!!!! Missing pieces of my heart...Marcel, LittleWhiteGirl, OldGuy & Charlie... at the Bridge! THE FERRETS' PAGE..."http://www.geocities.com/ferretlover97" Help Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter...Use I-Give... http://www.iGive.com/html/ssi.cfm?cid=7364&mid=103840 [Posted in FML issue 3145]