Howdy all, This is my first posting, so I'm going to batch a few questions I've built up over time, as well as from reading the mailing list. First, what is the deal with the 'California report' that I've read of? And what is the Cal. Domestic Ferret Association? Secondly, my ferret Elsa is around 7 years old and a wonderful friend. About a year ago she got some tumors on her pancreas (?), which my boyfriend and I had removed surgically. We discovered she was sick after she stopped eating almost entirely for a week, and lots LOTS of weight. She's much better now (yay!) Strangely, however, she will no longer eat the Iams cat food she grew up on. (I'm feeding her Science Diet.) At seven, Elsa has lost almost all of the hair on her tail and a lot of the hair on her hindquarters. Is this normal? If not, what could be the problem? Lastly, I'm thinking of getting Elsa a companion ferret. Does anyone know if she is too old to handle a rough-and-tumble younger ferret around? She used to have a friend (Beuller) who remained on the East Coast when I moved to California. Thanks for your advice, Ron [Posted in FML issue 0249]