Re ferrets and (human) babies: we have a 15 month old and two ferrets, and they get along quite well. We supervise them very closely of course, and we've had the odd nip, but we were close enough to make it an "ouch" rather than a screaming bloodbath. Timothy (the human) likes to grab their tails, and they don't necessarily care for his ham-fisted pats, but he's learning to be "gentle." And the ferrets (who are both in the three to five year old range and therefore more docile than kits would be) can actually quiet him when he's inconsolable: he gets giggle-fits whenever he sees them. (We refer to the ferrets now as Uncle Winston and Nanna, sometimes.) Re little kits in cages for long weeks. Please don't do this. Technically, they _will_ be "okay" in the sense that it won't kill them. But at that age (12 weeks), they want to run and play: it's what they do... well, not best... it's _all_ they do! Perhaps there is a friend who can come over once or (better) twice a day to drag a towel around the house for an hour or so. Or if you're quite certain (ha!) that the room is ferret-proofed, you could have a neighbor let them out, come back in an hour or two and recage them. I tend to think you really need to find another solution rather than leave them caged all week. Sue Kocher: an early welcome to the neighborhood. I'm not a member of the Triangle Ferret group, but they're a kind bunch of folks. Peace, Otter [Posted in FML issue 1636]