Skylark, In reponse to your question on how ferrets adapt to amputations, let me introduce you to Boris Ferretloff. Boris is a recuse who came to me about 6 months ago and is a double (triple, if you count his tail) amputee. Boris lost both of his hind feet and tail when his previous owner left him outside in a metal cage in Ohio during last winter's harsh Arctic blast. As a result, Boris froze to the bottom of his cage and was forced to gnaw his feet free. The previous owner, then took Boris and his cagemate Anastasia across the state line to Kentucky and abandoned them at a local animal shelter. Happily, one of the people there was connected with the organization Skunks As Pets (SAP) and Boris and Anastasia were not euthanized, but treated. The wonderful woman searched her friends in SAP and discovered the modest rescue and refuge I run and in very short order Boris and Anastasia arrived here. Of course, they had no real names (the SAP lady called them Hero and Baby). After much searching and while watching an old Boris Karloff movie, I decided to name the male Boris Ferretloff since Boris Karloff was such a gentle man who often played deformed characters. His tiny cagemate was christened Anastasia because of her shy, but regal manner. Both are now very happy members of my household. Boris acts as if having no hind feet is the most natural thing in the world. On hardwood or smooth floors, he throws his stumps behind him and pulls himself along almost as fast as the other ferrets romp around. When on carpeting or in the grass, Boris jumps up on his stumps and runs around as fast as most of the other ferrets here -- he is actually faster than two of the other ferrets. Shortly after arriving here, Boris also demonstrated that being old ( he is estimated at 5+) and a double amputee has not diminished his capabilities. The day he arrived, I also received an emergency rescue of two whole ferrets -- a beautiful red sable and a tiny albino female. The albino (now named Tiny) was terribly emaciated and well into heat. My vet declined to spay her in such a weakened condition and was leary of bringing her out of heat with hormones and suggested I relax my no-breed rule in this case since I had the red sable hob. Boris, however, had other ideas and promptly beat Puck ( the red sable) into submission and took Tiny with a firm gentleness. Unfortunately, Tiny's two kits were still born. The good news is that she now has a luxurious fluffy coat and is nicely plump -- not fat, just a good healthy fullness to her. For the most part, ferrets and other animals accept disabilities and limitations as things they cannot change and get on with the important things in life -- like playing, eating, sleeping, stealing the remote control and changing satellite channels, and conning me out of a little extra ferretone. Scott and the Fantastic 15 [Posted in FML issue 1828]