Just saw a ferret sighting on the local news. WBNG-TV just had a brief news spot about an unlikely pair of fur friends: a cat and a ferret! The pair live in Austin, TX and had to be given up for adoption. There was a stipulation that the pair had to be adopted together, and they were. Showed the cat and ferret playing together. Very brief news spot, but made me smile. I live in central NY, so to see news of this pair all the way from TX is awesome! I have to get rid of my reclining couch and chair. They're only four years old, but when I got them I didn't have ferrets! They don't go together! I've given up trying to keep the ferrets out of them (there are too many ways to get inside); they've ruined the carpet under the footrests from repeated digging, and have frayed the footrests from digging to get back out. To minimize further damage to the furniture and carpet, all three footrests are kept raised up. They have also completely ruined the fabric covering the bottom, and I've had to cut it off. This set sits almost on the floor--I can barely get my fingers under--but it's enough for the ferrets to get under. I'm going to try to cover the entire sofa with flat sheets sewn together until I can sell the furniture. I'm hoping to have better luck with a futon, but from catalog pictures it appears that most of them have a vinyl cushion. Is that true? Won't the ferrets' nails ruin the cushion? Please offer your comments or suggestions--I'm desperate! I've posted before about the 2yo male ferret we adopted about two months ago from Massachusetts. Not sure what color he is, but he looks alot like Modern Ferret's Ralph--a blaze, white face and throat, white toes and tail tip, and a grayish color everywhere else. We figured out a few weeks ago that he's deaf. We still haven't settled on a name--I've never had such a hard time naming a pet! :-) We're considering Ghost, Shadow, Whisper, Slink, Blaze, Bandit, and others. We have another male, a sable named Brae. Collectively I call them The Boys. Any suggestions for names would be appreciated! [Posted in FML issue 2415]