I called our local Humane Society here in Ann Arbor. There seems to be no unusual restrictions on stray ferrets here, and the person I talked to had a very good attitude toward ferrets. In fact, the last ferret they had in the shelter went home with an employee. :) Just a note on milk-drinking. I have given my ferts sips of milk with no problem in the past, so I thought nothing of offering Sebastian a little butter cookie and milk last night. I was tempted to let him drink as much milk as he wanted, since I hadn't given him any treats in a while. I'm glad I didn't. About five minutes after his little sip, he began projectile vomitting. Ugh. My guess is that he has become lactose intolerant in the months since his last treat of milk. After he got all the white frothy yuck up, he was fine. I could swear he was looking at me funny, though. Just a note on lactose intolerance: all mammalian milk has lactose. If you or your ferret can drink another kind of milk without getting sick, you probably have an allergy to something in cow's milk. (BTW, human milk has more lactose than cow's milk, so it's not alright to breastfeed a lactose intolerant ferret...uh, I hope we're all laughing here.) Also, cheese is very depleted in lactose (it generally ends up in the whey), while ice cream is loaded with it. So if someone tells you they can't eat cheese because they are lactose intolerant (and some people are so sensitive that is indeed the case), but they hog down an ice cream cone with a smile, there's something not adding up. After about the age of 5, around 3/4 of the world's population cannot digest lactose, the exceptions being primarily people of european ancestry and certain african groups. You can maintain or regain lactose tolerance by drinking milk daily (starting with very small doses if necessary), but I wouldn't put myself or my ferret through that. Anyway, I hope all this was informative, and that LI was indeed Sebastian's problem last night. The only other option I can think of is spirit possession. -Catherine [Posted in FML issue 1783]