The New Arrivals-1986 Lady and Rascal were going to become parents! We monitored Lady's pregnancy very closely and were watchful for any signs of problems. She ate more, slept more and kept getting bigger! The closer it came to the time for the arrival of the babies, the more she slowed down. She would waddle for a short distance and roll over on her back so she could get her tummy rubbed. Rascal just watched and waited from the side lines. The big day finally arrived--May 19. Eight beautiful little fuzzies were born. They were so tiny and were pink with a soft white covering of fur somewhat similar to that of peachfuzz. They were adorable. They also made a lot of noise to be such tiny little creatures. Lady suddenly became the ferret from hell. She attacked everyone but her humans. Rascal learned to stay far away from the babies' room. The cats either perched high out of her reach or stayed outdoors where they felt safe. The dog was constantly being bitten and could not get out of her line of fire except for when outside. Within a few days, their fur began to change from white to a soft chocolate brown. They were growing quite rapidly. Scott and I provided lots of hands on attention while Lady provided lots of maternal care. Rascal continued to watch and wait from the sidelines! Between six and seven weeks of age, their eyes began to open. They were already being fed some soft food in addition to what they were receiving from their mother. Scott said that it was time to place an ad in order to sell the babies. I did not want to part with my children! He continued to insist that I place an ad. I finally did as he asked, however, I "sabotaged" the ad and placed it in an obscure little local newsletter that few people read. Two babies were sold, much to my dismay, but they each went to good homes. Both new owners had brought their ferrets with them in order that I could see that they were being well cared for. I obtained their names, addresses, and phone numbers as well as a promise that should they ever need to place the animal, I would have the first opportunity to purchase it back. The babies continued to grow and were a real delight. Rascal moved away from the sidelines and helped Lady teach them everything a young ferret should know, ie: the proper technique of plant digging, how to quickly steal the insoles from the pet's shoes, sock stashing, remote control rustling, and how to look very cute in front of the refrigerator in order to get a treat of whipped cream. The boys: Yogi, Precious and Boo Boo were always harassing the girls: Spirit, Sweetcakes, and Button. They loved to jump on one of the girls and just laid on top of her so she couldn't move. The girls hated this little game! I learned that washing machines and ferrets don't mix. As I was doing laundry one day, the most horrible screaming began. I ran to the washing machine and quickly turned it off. The screaming continued. I lifted the machine up and shoved a food dish under the corner to keep it propped up while I reached underneath and removed a very frightened Boo Boo. He had a small cut underneath his right arm. He was whimpering and shaking uncontrollably. I finally got him calmed down and his cut medicated. I removed the food dish and lowered the washing machine. (I have tried to move the machine since and I can't budge the darn thing--adrenalin came to my aid that day!). Shortly afterwards, I came home to find the last inch of Boo Boo's tail to be broken. We assumed that he got it caught in a cupboard door or something. That last inch of tail eventually came off. Boo Boo's name was changed to Lucky. The twins arrive and tragedy falls upon us in the next chapter. Margaret, Harley, Scooter, Coco, Merlin, Rusty, Fancy, Princess and Gismo (and Scott, who has "misplaced" the insoles to his shoes again) [Posted in FML issue 1701]