Hi, I had a funny thought while in bed the other day. We're all joking about how big-butted our fuzzies are, especially with winter coming. How big must they think our furriless behinds are?! On a less crude note. We don't use too many generic terms for our ferts (that's what I call them I guess). However, I have two perfect white lady ferrets, ruby-eyed, Mom and Minnie (the runt, #9 of eight teets). I call them the Girly Girls (I think this is from Bennie Hill, a personal unfavorite) - so politically incorrect, but so true! They're soo white and fluffy and feminine. I got them right after they'd been taken out of heat, bred to a vascectimyzed (sp?) male, and their hormones - combined with their offended sensibilities in being relocated - were raging. They chittered and chattered day in and day out. They nipped and bit. They dragged each other around like cave ladies - this after one went through false pregnancy and the other went BACK IN to heat. WOMEN! I recently got little french maid outfits, okay french chef, poofy hats and aprons, tiny!, at a garage sale that I'm going to frill up for them for spring. Their full names: Claudette Pirahnette Ladybird Poufet and Minnie Markum Poufet (pronounced Poufay) - they are soooo fey! - the Poufay's. The Girly Girls, the Poufets, love their hubby Tarzan, whose nickname is Rapsco - from Tarzan Rapscalian Stallione (he comes from a family of Sylvester Stallone admirers, worse than Bennie - hope I haven't offended anyone!). The three make a beautiful Menage a Trois. The rest of our Gang of Seven, that leaves four - have identifying surnames. Let's see. Gadzook Kramer LeMarche (looks like Seinfeld's Kramer, didn't want to name him directly after a TV character) and Wally Freddy Red Romeo Emerson Lemarche - the LeMarches. And there's the Fergusons: Percy Ferdinand Fergie Ferguson (middle name after the sweet Ferdinand the Bull) and Schroeder Boat Fergie Ferguson (was big-butted when he arrived). I was excited to find out that one of my favorite writer's, F. Scott Fitzgerald's, wife, Zelda, named her pets long names. I told an (ex-)friend of mine that and she curtly replied, "She was schitzophrenic). So, it simplifies things - ;) - the Poufeys, Mr. Stallione, the LeMarches and the Fergusons. BYW, the Fergusons have really paid their dues; I yanked them out of a stint of servitude at a university, where they regularly underwent anesthesia to train medical students in the entubation (anesthetizing sp? with tubes) of babies over the course of two years. They're sweet little guys! Bob C., my favorite so far is Corner Bomber, from ??, to mix a little humility into my message (loved your scraping of the soapbox sound effect the other day - will flattery buy me a certificate??!!) Ferret Kisses (especially the sweet Poufays) Lynn - thirtysomething and yes, female!, a Girly Girl - Nah... [Posted in FML issue 1386]