> Real Dufour <[log in to unmask]> > WANTED: Christmas "horror" story (w/ferrets) When we were getting real trees, there was NO WAY to keep them upright. With the cats and the ferrets - man - what a mess. We even put one of them in a pot and poured in concrete and they tipped the concrete pot over too. But, ever since we got a fake tree (made out of recycled paper - but looks REAL I'm telling you - with fake pine cones and the whole shebang), now they can sleep in it and not tip it over. It is very very very heavy and *perfectly* balanced - the stand is like already attached and they CANNOT tip it over or do damage to it. The cats and the ferrets burrow in to the branches 5 feet off of the ground and SLEEP! Can you believe it? And without incident. One person thought Smudge was an ornament, perfectly still peering out between the branches - I HAVE PROOF OF THIS. I should scan my pictures in of all of the beasts in the tree. There is a picture of Zoey in the Ferret Central Photo Gallery of Zoey in the x-mas tree. But, I have much better pictures of cats and ferrets SLEEPING in the branches. Anyways - I recommend to put very sentimental glass ornaments up high. Even if they do not break them, sometimes they will hide them. We hang our really good ones from the chandeliers and in doorways. Also, put a ground fault thing on the plug for the lights - case somebody chews on the wire. And I would stay away from the balls wraped in satin - our experience: strings of satin come unraveled and get eaten by beasties. Otherwise - Christmas is the funnest and funniest time of the year for our little ones. They each have there own stocking and after they empty it, they take a nap in it. Charlene [Posted in FML issue 1382]