I just stumbled on the following web page: http://www.win.net/~monster/ferrets/ferrets.html which describes how about a dozen armed police broke into a ferret owner's home in California, forced him to the floor at gunpoint, confiscated his ferrets and arrested him. Does anyone know if this story is true? It seems outrageous! On a less radical note, I wanted to ask about some odd behavior from Cassie lately. She has always been excellent with litter training. Even in a strange room, if it wasn't too big, I could usually put some newspaper in one corner and she would use it. Lately though her training has been slipping in rooms she isn't in most of the time. And this morning I found she had pooped beside the litter pan in her familiar kitchen. I'm a little paranoid since I lost Bud over Christmas, and was wondering if there could be any *medical* reason for this change. She seems fine otherwise, playful, energetic, affectionate, eating and eliminating normally (just not always in the right spot :). Hmm, except she also has been squirming when held sometimes; she used to be good about holding still. The only thing I can think of is it's some sort of reaction to Bud passing away. They were always very close, but since he passed I haven't seen any behavior that might be taken for grief, unless this counts. Then again, maybe she's just trying to make up for Bud's absence by pooping on the floor like he always used to :). If anyone has any ideas about this behavior change, please let me know. -- John Rosloot, Caregiver to Cassidy and Sammy With loving memories of my dear departed Buddy Technical analyst, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Regina Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~john/ferrets.html [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1444]