Subtleties in happiness can be very exciting to view... a ferret who was shy before, coming around more often and making themselves seen. In Mushu, her happiness is defined by lying contentedly on her side with her eyes half shut and licking the air. I especially love the way she looks at me when I talk to her (she's deaf) and she stares at me intently and the licking starts, her head semi-darts forward... just the intensity of the interest. In Lobo, it was his need to start stashing the big toys. He never did it when he first came to us. Now he stuffs the big stuffed toys in behind my water fountain, which nothing fits anyway. In Akela, it is her way of finding you and circling you and tilting her head to one side. It is as if she is smiling... In Sateeva... well, she is far from subtle. She is a wound spring. Every time we see her she is just one little bouncy ball of white. Her eyes are bright and full of happiness. In Tygger, it is his way of exploring that shows confidence in his walk and in his way of examining the world around him. He is fully blind on his right and I would say partially blind on his left. In Rayden, it is in his ability to be boss, to be head honcho, to be the alpha ferret. His marking drives me nuts, but at least I know he is happy knowing he is boss. Know what I mean? :-) In Sammy, it is in his laid back nature. He is not stressed, doesn't seem to take things personally, just minds his own business and sleeps with whomever, whenever and that's fine for him. He plays with anyone who is handy when he wants to play, which is not all that often now that he is getting on in years. He just is so easy going. In Cherokee, it is again in her liveliness, her brightness, her life force that seems to just flow off of her. There are so many ways, as Sukie mentioned, that the subtle signs of happiness come out. All we need to do is to watch for them... betty and her blur o'fur for the love of ferrets [Posted in FML issue 3958]