Ferrets are living breathing 'thinking' little beings. We need to acknowledge that not all ferrets act or react the same way, they are not robots programmed exactly alike. Simply adding words like SOME or MY to posts takes away the generalization that ALL ferrets act the same way on any topic and may tone down a little of the aggravation. Please Keep in mind that there are children reading this list too and some of the graphic posts may be upsetting to them (and other adults as well). I will relate my own personal experiences on ferrets and mice, which is quite different than a previous post. Years ago I lived surrounded by fields. Field mice abound in fields and they move in to homes for comfort. Ours was no different. I had 34 free-roam ferrets and 3 dogs. I not so happily had field mice. The mice would drink from the water bottles, bowls, and eat from the food dishes. I think they thought they were pets and apparently the ferrets also thought the mice were pets because they allowed this to continue without discord. One time I found 3 live pinkies snuggled in the same bed as 2 ferrets, neither seemed disturbed that the other species was sharing the bed. I cut down a small cardboard boxes, added some stuffing and placed the babies in the box in the cabinet for momma mouse to retrieve. She did. Another time Marley found a juvenile mouse and picked it up, the mouse squeaked and Marley dropped it, the mouse stayed very still and Marley picked it up again, the mouse squeaked and was dropped. I watched for a minute or two then rescued the mouse keeping it contained to make sure it was o.k. then released it outside. This mouse was unharmed by the experience, well except perhaps for a raise in blood pressure. Out of 34 free roam ferrets, not one of them killed any of the field mice, nor did they chase them to my knowledge. I never saw or found remains anywhere that would indicate they harmed any mouse. The ferrets tolerated them, only blinking a sleepy eye when a mouse clambored up the cage wire to drink from the water bottle holding on upside down, only mere inches away from the ferrets. Sunny, one of my dogs did catch mice and was quite proud of his accomplishment. I was thankful the kill was swift though I would have preferred he just take the mouse outside like I did when I caught them in the humane traps. When we moved we found that we also had a resident rat who I had not known was living with us. I'm sure the ferrets did but again, this group of ferrets didn't mind having alternate species roommates. For a time I was rehabbing a pigeon and the ferrets didn't try to harm it either. The dogs were another story as the pigeon regularly taunted them, flying down the hall just above their heads then back again. The dogs knew not to harm the pigeon when I was there and when he was sitting on me, but I have no doubt that had I left the pigeon unattended with the dogs it would have been killed. I'd found dead birds in the yard and witnessed Shylow, one of my dogs, jump and catch/kill a bluejay in mid-air. Those 34 ferrets are long gone but they were the gentlest and most loving ferrets. A friend made a good point - how you raise them and their environment makes a difference. I think genetics plays a part too. The same as those factors make difference in how we act - two having the exact same experience may react differently. Having a hard life might make one stronger while another might become weaker, or aggressive. This is true with ferrets from my experiences. tle www.ferretfamilyservices.org Kansas [Posted in FML 6224]