Official ferret union business: Hey! We want unlimited access to the refrigerator (now that we know there's all sorts of good stuff in there!!!) and we want to get up on the kitchen counter and we want all doors left open at all times and pasta every night and we want to go outside and play! and mud--we want mud! and we want to go visit our friends whenever we want!!! --Ralph (Amalgamated Brotherhood of Squeaky Toy Surfers) --Norm (Counter Hoppers And Other Silliness--CHAOS) --Cinderella (Dancing Order of Sock Keepers--DOOKS) While I was on vacation, Norm, Ralph and Cinderella went to summer camp and stayed with human and ferret friends. They had a *wonderful* time and keep pestering me to go visiting (see above). The first night I was home, Cinderella woke me up in the middle of the night. I had the funny feeling I should check up on Ralph and Norm. When I went downstairs, I found the refrigerator door wide open. Norm was *inside* investigating, and Ralph was on the floor *guzzling* from a bottle of raspberry lime seltzer water. I guess they thought they were still on vacation--either that or they had heard about the Kansas Refrigerator Inspectors Union. I *hope* the door wasn't tightly shut and the bottle cap had been left loose; otherwise, I'm going to have to tape up the refrigerator along with all the kitchen cabinets... I have Italian ferrets also. Ralph once terrorized one of the cats into giving up a dish of pasta--one of the few times I saw him waving his tail back and forth. I find that everyone in the house--dogs, cats, ferrets, human--*love* pasta. Seat belts--I sometimes use a small cat carrier and just fasten the seat belt around it. Not sure how much good it would actually do, but... Myself, I wouldn't take *any* chances with leaving a ferret in a hot car, large ice cube or not. Also, I know someone whose *large* dog was stolen along with her car-- car located, dog never found. It is not uncommon for pets to be stolen from cars. I personally do not think it's a good idea to leave an animal unattended in a car, and there have been *lots* of postings about heat in cars... -- Ronnie [Posted in FML issue 1157]