I have had ferrets since 1997 and just suffered a horrible tragedy. Cherry, my spunky female cinnamon, was sneaking around after a snack session when she darted over and ran under my feet. I though she was nowhere close but she ran under my feet and was smashed in just the right way to almost immediately put her into shock. I tried to call vets but on a Saturday they all had numbers for emergency that didn't go anywhere. I laid her into a towel over warm water bottles made from 2 large zip lock bags to try to save her from shock. She wiggled a little, and then just basically died. I did find a vet local who met me, but she already died. Cherry still has 2 ferret sisters and a cat brother, thank goodness. I am having a very hard time here. The only good thing is that for ferrets, a fast death doing something fun as a result of a freak accident seems far better in my mind then dying to a painful uncomfortable disease. Anyway, there really is no bright side. Cherry was a great ferret and she mothered everyone else, including myself. She would have been 4 in October of 2004. Mark H. [Posted in FML issue 4633]