We are entering a time of year when poisonings are more likely to happen, some directly, some indirectly. When a person drinks too much there is an increased chance of placing dangerous things where they should not be so if you plan on a blow-out this holiday season work yourself first into strict habits about when things like medications, some plants, macadamia nuts (which not only can cause blockages but also are poisonous for your critters, cigarette butts, and other poisonous items live in your house. More direct poisonings can happen when people intentionally give a ferret, dog, or cat something toxic to them, often due to not knowing those things can be toxic. These can range from people trying to get a ferret stoned or drunk, to a ferret lapping cocoa, eating avocado, or getting currants, raisins, or grapes (which can cause acute kidney failure). Many of the things that poison dogs or cats also poison ferrets which are fellow members of Order Carnivora. This piece includes both some common cold weather hazards and some common holiday hazards: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/a-poison-safe-home.html Common causes of poisoning: <http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/top-10-pet-poisons-of-the-year.html> Notice that some plants given during holidays are poisonous: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/17-common-poisonous-plants.html and look into others to be safest: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/ Some foods to not let your pets get due to poisoning risks: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/people-foods.html One of these drugs, Vitamin D in too high levels, recently came up in discussion here: <http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/top-10-human-medications-that-poison-our-pets.html> What to do if your pet is poisoned, a good page to print out and keep handy in case your power fails but you need the phone number, (888) 426-4435: <http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/what-to-do-if-your-pet-is-poisoned.html> Besides the ASPCA Animal Poison Control site and number there is also the MSPCA one of Angell Memorial to keep handy, 1-877-2ANGELL and that also offers information to keep your animals safe: <http://support.mspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=petowners_Pet_Safety_Tips_Pet_Safety_Tips> Here is their holiday safety page: <http://support.mspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=petowners_Poison_Aware_Holiday> One thing that you will notice is that Poinsettia is not as dangerous for pets as people thought long ago but it can still cause GI upset so keep it out of reach; then notice the plants that you didn't realize are hazardous and take precautions, please. Good for you and your vet to have, as are a number of others: http://www.aspcapro.org/mydocuments/apcc_ferret.pdf which can be supplemented with things like http://www.aspcapro.org/mydocuments/b-veccs_jan01.pdf and http://www.aspcapro.org/animal-poison-control-center-articles.php Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html "All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow." (2010, Steve Crandall) On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall) "Trust, the Final Frontier" (2010, Juliette Powell) [Posted in FML 6896]