This may be a cross post for those of you on the AFA ferret list, but I wanted to share my sad news with you all. We lost one of our babies Sunday afternoon to an awful accident. My partner and I dont block off the kitchen from the fuzzies. We have the fridge completely blocked off so they cant get behind it. Ally got into the stove once a long time ago but she had stopped several months ago and we assumed she had gotten too big to fit under the broiler. Unfortunately she proved us wrong yesterday. Somehow she climbed up to the top of the stove and fell into the back portion of it that holds all the wires. We still cant figure out how she could've gotten there. It doesnt look like there is any possible way she could've gotten back there. Anyway, before we could unplug the stove or get the back panel off, she was electrocuted. My partner and I are so devastated. We had just been talking the night before about how awful it would be when one of them died. of course we were thinking from old age or a n incurable disease, not this! Ally was always the one who challenged our ferret proofing--she was always the one who got into things that you just wouldnt even think of! We had only had her since April--she was barely 8 weeks old. I feel so guilty that we should've found a way to block off the kitchen. But we had no way of knowing that she would have ever ended up where she did. Still, I feel like the worst pet owner on earth right now. This happened the day before I start classes to complete my Vet Tech degree after a 3 year absence from the program. Being a Vet Tech feels like the last thing I want to be doing right now. I guess I have a practical question about all this--in your experience, how have your surviving fuzzies handled the death of another fuzzy? We let the other 3 out yesterday one at a time, and let them see Ally. They nudged her and laid down beside her. They seem so subdued since this happened. We had them out last night and they were asleep within about 15 minutes--totally not like them! They didnt run around and play at all. I am so saddened to see them behaving this way. Thanks for listening, everyone. Becky and Heather The "A"-Team: Abby, Andre and Annie...missing Ally Jack the cat Mendel and Madison, the white mice [Posted in FML issue 3656]