[Somebody's really buggering up your From: address] Hi, I used to have a ferret way back when at school in Michigan. When I moved to California, he went east with a good friend. He wasn't the best behaved ferret- he was "grown-up" when I got him and had been badly mistreated. Nonetheless, he was a lot of fun. I'm starting grad school this fall in Boston and am interested in getting another one. I was too well educated my first time around and thought I'd ask some questions here before I really did it: 1) Is it legal to own a ferret in Boston? Massachusetts? 2) I'm not totally sure of my schedule, but certainly I'll have some long class days. Would it be nice/kind/wise to get a second pet (cat, another ferret, etc.) so that no one feels lonely? i.e. playmates 3) Just how easy is it to train a ferret? I'm thinking about practical things like "no chewing on this" and "here is your litter box". 4) They can be litter trained, yes? I had a cat that I was pretty easily able to train to use the toilet and was able to get rid of the litter box. Has anyone been able to train a ferret similarly? Perhaps some other kind of toiletry? 5) What can I expect as monthly costs for food and such? I'll be on a stipend so I need to look at the budget. 6) What are typical costs for 'fixing' and shots for a new animal? I assume (at least if I want to get them trained) that I'd be better off getting a young animal. 7) Is there anything "bad" that is just impossible to train them against? i.e. they will *always* dig up house plants or somesuch. 8) Pointers to references on ferret "owner's manual". Thanks for any help! Christopher Cilley {ucsfcca|claris}!wet!cc [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML 0131]