Melissa etc etc etc here. Well, Potpie, Noodle, and Friday managed to eat the tentacles off of a squishy rubber glowsquid that should'nt have been on the floor but was. As far as i can tell, they chewed it in tiny chunks and delightedly ate what they could before i rescued it. Again, the Ferret Mom Alarm went off - they've been quiet for too long! What're they doing?! YAIE! Questions for the vets: it's a soft, squishy type of rubber. The pieces are probably 3-4mm in diameter. However, it was a glow-in-the-dark rubber toy, and they got probably two inches eaten between the three of them. I gave them all gobs of petromalt, before realizing that petroleum-based goo interacts oddly with rubber. They all seemed fine this morning, although last night Potpie was chuffing and coughing as though a small piece had lodged in her throat. She could still eat, breathe, and drink w/o difficulty, so i checked her again at 1am and she seemed okay then, as well as this morning. Is there a toxicity threat here? What sort? Fleas: this is a suggestion reminder - put a flea collar in the vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum at least once a day, being sure to get all the corners and under furniture, etc. Winter coats: Potpie's (siamese, or chocolate, or wait, is she sable?) got shorter, stiffer, and darker. Huh? Normally she turns into a light brown puffball. Friday (albino) now looks like a polar bear, and Noodle went from a black to a normal sable, albeit a normal sable beachball. Melissa, *fretfretfret* and the kids, harrumph. and friend Christine: "Ferrets think anything which isnt actually attached to the floor or wall is some sort of food!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Melissa Litwicki [log in to unmask] Radio Controlled Operation In Vivid Six Ways Of Movement With Reality! [Posted in FML issue 1393]