Oliver is about 6 years old, and has never been very sociable. His playmate, Rikki, was killed by a cat over 8 months ago (she was probably close to 7yo). Rikki was a feisty, fun ferret. She was easy and fun to play with - loved to chase me around the house. Olly would usually watch us play, then Rikki would goad him into joining us. When I wasn't playing with her, she'd attack Olly and make him exercise. Now that she's gone, I can't seem to keep Olly busy, and he's started to gain weight. I've tried all the old games, and even switched his food from SD kitten chow to SD cat chow. Olly just prefers to lick my hands and look around. Also, last fall, we had a bad flea problem, and Oliver lost the hair on his tail chomping at them. We've cleared up the flea problem, but Olly's fur just won't grow completely back (I give him a drop of Linatone daily). I've been watching him closely for the last month - trying to make sure I interact with him daily (its been tough with a new (6 mo) baby in the house). In the past week, he's lost some control of his back legs. When he's walking across our slick oak floor, he can't keep his back feet under him. He ends up flat on his tummy, doing a little push-up with his front legs and swishing his back legs until he moves onto the carpet. Once he's on the carpet, he's fine (although he's still a little slow, and his back doesn't arch like it used to). Poor Olly's just a mess and I'm very concerned. He has a vet apptmt next week, but since my vet's in a FFZ, I'm not always confident that he's able to keep up to date on ferret issues. Has anyone had a ferret decline like this? Is there anything I should/can suggest to the vet? - Worried in CA. [Posted in FML issue 0531]