I have to say I'm learning a lot about killer ferrets here. And I also have to say that I stand with Troy Lynn on the nurture/nature issue. I have seen mice come in out of the cold to share a food dish with our very domestic shelter ferrets. On the other hand we have some ferrets that came from a breeder who had imported Danish stock. (After she got started she suddenly decided she didn't want to breed after all and dumped 2 moms and 13 babies on us.) These kids will zip to chase and kill a mouse. Note, we shortly dumped the most troublesome mom and babe on Troy Lynn. Aside from the Danes I've only had 2 ferrets in almost 18 years of sheltering that I actually saw kill a rodent. One was a big albino guy who killed a rat in the basement. In the early days before we put an addition on the house the shelter was in the basement. The other was a tiny little dark sable female who disappeared under a cage in a flash. She killed a mouse and then sat there and hissed at the other ferrets while she ate it. We all had great respect for her after that, if not before. Our "free" grey hound could beat any hapless stray cat to the backyard fence but she never touched the mom cat who showed up having had a litter of kittens under the house. She sort of figured they were part of the family so never mind. Maybe our foundling ferrets feel the same way? After all, the house is full of found family. Nature? Nurture? Not sure? Doesn't matter. They all still eat kibble but, as I said, I'm learning a lot. Bobbi McC [Posted in FML 6225]