I'm pretty new to this list, but not to ferrets. I have a sterling sivermitt named Silk who is almost 7 years old. We used to have a sable, Jean LaFitte, but he died of kidney failure at 4 1/2 like Colleen's MacGregor. My question is about Silk. We know he's getting older, but he's still just as active as ever, getting into everything, stealing any sock that isn't nailed down (even off feet) and terrorizing the other pets. He's small and has always been on the skinny side, though he's eating and drinking normally. He never goes out of the house. He never put on a winter coat last year, but this year he seems to be going bald! It started with a patch just over his tail. Now there are thin areas all across his undersides. We're taking him to our vet this weekend, but does anyone have any experience with this? Wendy [Posted in FML issue 0627]