Just a quick note to alert people to a possible danger I recently discovered. This concerns wet/dry vacs; I use one to wash and clean out my cages and liter boxes. They work great, and I don't have to think about what is going into the household sucker. I had the cages disassembled, and had sucked up the loose liter and bits-o-meal, and started washing the walls and floor. I was, of course, being helped by several furry friends, but since they hate the smell of the cleanser, I had no problems in that regard. I usually end the cleaning proceedure by pouring a weak bleach solution into the liter box, then sucking it up (I replace the box with one that has been airdryed for three days; I use four liter boxes, and recycle them each time to allow all chemicals to dissipate prior to their being reused). I reached down to pick up the hose with one hand, and was turning to flip the switch when I saw a pair of beady little eyes staring up at me. Daye, the smallest of my beasties, was in the tube, tail first and wanting to play. Well, I rushed her into the house and gave her a weak vinegar bath (to neutralize any basic solutions on her skin) while giving her a stern talking-to. She normally loves to swim, but thought the vinegar was a bit too much, so scolded me the entire time. We made up with a raisin, a piece of ferret jerky, and a bite of tuna. I resolved to never let the beasts around the wet/dry again! I hate to think what might have happened had I turned that sucker on. The truth is, Racy saved Daye's life. After reading about her tragic accident, I was being extra careful not to squash any of my beauties and so glanced down at my hand to make sure I wasn't putting it where they were. I was actually thinking of Racy when I saw Daye pearing at me. I want to thank you Kelleen for sharing your story with us; I might not have been so carefull.... Bob Moose, Stella, Daye, Tori, and Bear. Daye says, "I'm sorry. Can I have more tuna? This time with some of that white stuff, OK?" The Gang says, "THANK YOU RACY AND KELLEEN!!" PS: Could someone please forward this to Kelleen? I've been having a sad mac problem, and haven't freed up my memory files yet, and her address is behind a corrupted password. Thanks. [Posted in FML issue 1367]