Thanks to those of you who sent me your good wishes and ideas for trying to locate my lost ferret, Scratchy. It is now 5 1/2 days that he has been missing and I am beginning to fear the worst. Every shelter, animal control department and neighbor knows he is missing. I have been out calling him and even used his old squeaky hotdog that I found when I removed the dishwasher (he used to hide in there before I plugged the opening - but the hotdog was still stashed!). I had to tell my 5 year old daughter that he was missing when she stayed over on Tuesday - I had lost a lot of sleep about that conversation! So far, she is still willing to believe he will be back - although I tried manage expectations as I know that the longer he is missing the worse it is ... Anyway, I will continue to keep hope alive and keep looking! I am now worried about Itchy, the bonded cagemate of Scratchy. He is eating, etc - but he seems very lethargic. I am not a ferret psychologist, but he seems depressed. Normally he is eager to get out of his cage and run around - but for the last few days I will open the door and he does not come out of his hammock. I have pulled him out to give him some love - and try in an obviously insufficient way to fill in some of the missing physical contact he is so used to - and he will play for a while. But he has even gone back to his cage by himself and gone back to sleep. Again - just as if he were depressed! I am not sure what to do - I do not want to rush out and replace Scratchy, especially because I still have hope he will turn up and my daughter is not ready to get a "new Scratchy." But perhaps I could foster a shelter-ferret for a while and, if things work out and Scratchy does not turn up in a few weeks, he could become a member of the family. Another thought was to get a small dog - which I have been thinking about also - and see if it gets along with Itchy. Any thoughts from group members who have experienced a similar loss of a cagemate - through death or otherwise - would be appreciated. Thanks, ASG [Posted in FML issue 5122]