Yesterday afternoon at 3:30 I got a call from Tina. She called to say that one of the ferrets was dead, but she wasn't sure which one. I could hear the panic in her voice and said I'd be right home. Thank goodness my co-workers are understanding. As soon as I walked in I saw the ferret. He was laying on his back in the "sleeping ferret" position on the futon. I had to look very closely to determine who it was (Clyde and Cheyenne look very much alike). Tina has two ferrets (Cheyenne and Comanche) that live with me because her husband said they stink. In exchange, she comes now and again and cleans the house and/or sits with the ferrets during the day while I'm at work. The ferret on the futon was Cheyenne. We took Cheyenne to the vet for a necropsy. Unfortunately the necropsy told us nothing. Every organ looked fine, including the brain. There was a hematoma on the top of the head but that wasn't what caused his death. A section of small intestine was inflamed (ECE or just deterioration?) also. Travis estimated death was early afternoon. So now we are waiting for the pathology report. I'd noticed Cheyenne had not been as active but he was eating and eliminating normally. He loved the recipe and ALWAYS persuaded me to give him "just a little more". Tina said he was between 4-6 years old. I'd only been blessed with his addition to our home since March. Such a short time for him and Mugsy to share our lives. The jury is still out on Kadie. She is doing very well and Monday stools were normal only to change back to cottage-cheesy-mucousy slightly formed pea green diarrhea. Her activity level is good and she eats about 30 cc's of recipe at each feeding. She's a squeaker. I call her the ferret's squeaky toy cause she is all the time squeaking and hissing at them. They, of course, think this is a fun toy. Hugs. tle [Posted in FML issue 1782]