Oh, I have missed the list. I have had to lurk for a while since I have been busy with summer school and being short handed at work. All the ferrets seem to be in good health. Max has since started eating again and is just as big and fat as his brother Fred. I am watching Bebe closely though. She has always been small, but now that she is about six, I am more concerned with her health. She did have the runs and lack of appetite, but chicken gravy seemed to help. I remember the multitudes of ferrets acting as a coat, but I do not recall what it advertised or when. After and exhaustive search of the Internet, I failed to find any reference to it. About whether caring for animals as a "hobby" or not. I suppose it's simply how you define the word. I agree with Karen that if it were defined as something done on the side at one's leisure, then no, caring for our pets or any animal is not a hobby. However, since there can be many interpretations of words, we've tried to standardize our use of language in things like dictionaries so we can all be on the same page. (Consider how one ex-president argued, "It depends on what your definition of "is" is.) I think prevailing definition is one that denotes a hobby as something enjoyable and done for love not money. As for being attacked, what a shame people felt the need to be mean about something as silly as your interpretation. I don't know if I would call a lot of what goes on on the list as bickering. How about "spirited discussion"? If you go into a group expecting to all have the same ideas you'll be sorely disappointed. We're not Stepford clones. People will have different opinions and views; that is what is so great about a list of this nature. When it gets down to being personal and name-calling, THAT is when there is a problem, but BIG does a great job of heading most of that off. As for people who leave the list. If they leave over silly things like that (which I bet few really leave) then what is the loss? If it weren't one little thing, it would be another. Judy, keep the story coming, you can't leave us in suspense. James, Melissa, Kassidy & Jasmine Loving: Bebe, Fred & Max Missing: Wheezer, Pym, Rikki, Jako, Riley [Posted in FML issue 4552]