First I want to say that my heart breaks for those who have lost a fuzzy love. I do know how it hurts. It is wonderful though that they left this earth with the love you felt for them and not scared and alone. Your love made it easier for them to pass on to the Rainbow Bridge. As far as soft or rough coats go, I have found that most of the time as far as pet stores go the fuzzies that have clay litter have rougher, dryer coats than those that have newpaper or corncob litter. I use rabbit pellets myself and even during coat blowing there is very little difference in the texture of their coats. To TLE from whom I got my Teddy Bear (Fredonia) He is doing wonderfully. He has become the most loving and comical little fert in our house. He loves to be held and snuggled, he also loves to be wrestled with. He gets along VERY well with the other 15. He has only poofed 3 times since he has been here and those were plenty ;-) I believe he is coming on a year old now. Thank you for giving us the chance to have such a wonderful little guy join our family. He has just started grabbing my leg with his paws to get my attention. He is soooo cute about it (still a little shy). 4 yrs ago my daughter came to me and said she wanted a ferret. At that time I groaned and said "Oh God No!" I've always been an animal lover and she asked me to just go look see. I feel head over heels with our first, Max, about died when we lost him and now we have 16. They have got to be the most wonderful little companion I have ever had the priviledge to share a house with. And I have also discovered ferret folks to be quite unique in their own way. Give your fuzzies and extra hug and kiss today and everyday. Terry and the Sweet 16 [Posted in FML issue 1867]