My family's circumstances prevented us from having family pets when my brother and I were children. I have loved animals as long as I can remember. My grandmother had a farm so we were exposed to farm animals and barn cats when we visited. I wanted a cat so badly that I pestered my mother constantly about having a cat. One thing that I find that I have in common with animal lovers I know is that my parents read us many children's stories about animals when we were very young. I remember a story about millions of cats. I thought that must be heaven. I wonder if children's animal stories help to make people animal lovers. When I was in grade school my school's librarian tried to interest me in stories about people but I was not interested. I only read animal stories like "Lad, a Dog." As an adult, I found my first ferret living in a hole under a stone step in front of our house. She had been abandoned and was finding dog kibble next door. I adopted her and started to learn about ferrets at the library and on the Internet. I have had several ferrets over the past 15 years and many cats during my adult life. Mary Baum [Posted in FML issue 5270]