Hi everybody! My gang o' five sends many wet, sticky kisses (Mom is tired of cleaning the pine sap off their whiskers) to all your fuzzies (We *like* this tree thing!). Re: dooking Ian, who is 6, used to walk around constantly dooking. He hardly ever does it anymore. However, he's been through two surgeries for cancer and has an enlarged spleen :(, which may explain that. On the other hand, Sidney is 3 and he's been dooking all his life and still does. I guess it just depends on the ferret. Re: winter coats Ian, who I considered sickly, proved me wrong this year by growing in the lushest, most beautiful sable coat this year (unlike every other year, where he's grown in a "mutt" coat). Max is only 7 months but he has *really* long hair, which he's had since he was about 5 months. He's quite cute -- I've never had a chocolate siamese before -- I like his white little face and very brown body. As far as everyone else is concerned, their coats hardly changed at all. Re: food and drink Only Elektra, who's headed toward 8 years, eats meat. Any kind of meat, as long as it's flesh, is just fine by her. That includes poultry and fish. I can't seem to get anyone else interested in it. Oh well. Drinks are another matter. "We LOVE drinks, sometimes to drink, sometimes to spill, sometimes to splash! We LOVE milk, iced tea (fresh-brewed, unsweetened), soda, wine, beer if we're in the mood, and ESPECIALLY WATER!" What is it about water, when it's not in their bottle? They think the Christmas tree's water was set out for them. They love it in a cup. I keep trying to tell them it's the SAME STUFF, but they look at me like I'm nuts! Amy & Dave (and their gaggle of giggling ferrets) [Posted in FML issue 1043]