We have a single ferret, Ralphie, he is 4-ish. He was part of a group of 4, and over the last 3 years the rest have died. Poor Ralphie. My husband reported that the other day there was a ferret segment on the channel "NOGIN" (or is that with 2 G's?), they were flipping around and chuckling over a feather duster. Ralphie came out of his cage and just flipped out. He was totally into these bunch of ferrets, goofing around and making noises. He really reacted. I know he would like a friend, he's been a group ferret, he's friendly, etc., but I also know we have a 2 1/2 year old child right now. Who in their right mind would agree to let us have another ferret with a 2 1/2 year old in the house? She loves Ralphie, and he is good with her. I mean, he is patient. He runs away from her a lot, half the time playing and the other half tired of playing with her. She picks him up correctly, although we would prefer she not do that at all. She will pick him up and "help" him onto the couch or the ottoman. When we had the last two, she was very good about not picking up the oldster, Linus, we told her he was tired and sick and not in the mood to be held. He was also slow so his actions supported our claims. We also know Ralphie has a heart problem, a very faint one, but a heart problem nonetheless. Sometimes his heart doesn't receive the request to pump and so it misses a beat. I know he would like a friend, but we know he does have health issues and what will happen with that other ferret when Ralphie passes? What should we do about him? Minta and poor, lonely Ralphie [Posted in FML issue 4337]