hey you all out there in ferret land! my ferret (an albino named whitey) woke me up this morning with a hacking/choking sound when it happened before, i took her to the vet and she said she had swollen something or other and gave her some antibiotics which i am not sure she even needed you see, i have only had whitey for 8 mos now-- in other words, we have yet to live through a spring together... could it be that she has allergies (i do)? or do you think she's just dislodging a hairball from her throat or something? or do you think it's possible that she knows that this sound scares me and that i will subsequently get up and take her out of her cage-- even if it's 5:45 in the morning? because of course that is what i do until i notice that for some reason or another she has stopped and i can go back to sleep myself (it's too bad i can't let her spend the night outside of her cage, but i can't - she's too kooky) o and another quick question-- with the weather getting nice i have the urge to take her for a walk in the park or something however, unfortunately, she refuses to keep a collar on she slinks out of it without fail and i feel like i have tried them all (at least 8 diff't types/sizes including the ones meant for those green scary-looking reptilic animals whose name escapes me at this moment) do you think it's more of a "discipline" issue than anything else? any suggestions? you can email me at: [log in to unmask] thank you whitey's mommy [Posted in FML issue 1526]