hi jennifer. your concern is certainly understandable. but, from my experience with my 4 cats and 3 ferrets, i think i'd be worried about the cats. my cats are extremely gentle and are, frankly, a bunch of woosies. if they ever saw a mouse, i bet they'd run like hell. anyway, my cats are 13 and 14 years old, and very dignified and set in their ways (bless their hearts.) when we brought 3 little ferret terrorists into our home (over a period of maybe 2 years,) my cats sort of half-heartedly swatted at them a few times, and then jumped up on anything out of reach of the ferrets, and patiently waited until the little munchkins found some other trouble to get into. you know, it's really a hoot to see a 1.5 lb. ferret chasing a 15 lb. cat down the hall. as i said, i'd be more worried about the cats. linda [Posted in FML issue 1351]