Dooks to all, condolences to those who've lost their beloved little fur kids. Georgia-do you honestly mean you didn't get him a military uniform???? C'mon, girl, think of how he'd looked in that NRA meeting dressed in a Marine combat uniform. The women would have been going nuts for him (hey, my daughter says there's nothing like a man in a Marine uniform!) Get some camoflage paint for his face, strap a round of ammo around his shoulders-he'd be a good Recon soldier (as long as they don't have raisins around). And if you notice things being knocked down, you'll know he's having target practice. Watch out, you might find Jackalope heads, mice tails, maybe raisins, all on little wall mounts setting down low. I can see Kouri, swaggers in with gun in a shoulder holster, the other ferrets in awe, he'll have his own little chair with side table, picture of Charleton Heston (autographed no less) and his award beside it. He can regale the others with his NRA meeting/Award, tell them of his hunting prowess. Just watch out for the Marine, Navy, or Army recruiters showing up! Does he have the bumper sticker yet about 'you can have my gun when you can pry it out of my paws - or you can bribe me for raisins' (Sorry, little editorial license there) Just make sure you don't find him in front of a mirror learning how to 'twirl' it on his paw, doing a John Wayne swagger and looking at the other ferrets going "well, pilgrim, lemme tell ya....." You can tell your a ferret owner when: You don't allow anyone to throw out their old t-shirts because they make good ferret bedding. Your ferret can claw your hand when you bathe them, you wouldn't even attempt to bathe the cat because you know they'd claw you (worse, yes, but still.....) You never baby talked your children, but you find yourself making baby talk to the ferrets You don't allow humans to eat or drink after you, but you share your food with your ferrets, and allow them to stick their tongue into your milk and ice tea (and if unseen some will try cappuccino-think they're normally wired, HAHAHAHAHA!!!) You trade vehicles and the most important thing is that there's enough room to put the ferret cages in it for long trips so they'll be comfortable (the human passengers can be miserable, but the fuzzies & cats have to be comfortable) Joseph: Your parents should be so proud of you! You are an incredible ferret owner-it's great to see. Smokey certainly picked the right human to own. Lisa: you might try Craisins. Also, I discovered a little over a year ago some of my kids are enamored of animal crackers (no, they didn't dig through to see if they could find ferret crackers). I made the mistake of going upstairs and playing with them while having the bag with me. Needless to say, I had ferrets get into the bag and steal my cookies! Rebecca & the Crew of Merry Mayhem "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste good with ketchup" [Posted in FML issue 3264]