I've also been trying out mice with our pet ferrets, with mixed results thus far. I appreciate the anonymous poster's information on their mouse/ferret experiences. So far most of our ferrets who've been introduced to mice will instantly kill them (and I mean instantly), but they've not quite gotten the hang of eating them yet. All of our ferrets know that a dead mouse is a special thing, and some of them will run about the house, each with a dead mouse in its mouth, hissing at the others to keep away from their treasure. Most will also mouth the dead mouse, and a few will now start eating the mice. The mouse interactions have in NO WAY altered our ferrets' personalities or behavior beyond making them more active and alert during and after the mouse event (nor am I aware of any studies showing that diets including raw meat have negative behavioral affects on any carnivorous animal). I strongly suspect the bad experience another poster had with an aggressive ferret was a result of the hob being in season and near an in season jill rather than a result of its diet (we also don't know the quality of human interaction this ferret received on a regular basis). Yes, mice are animals too, as are cows, chickens, pigs, sheep and all the other creatures we choose to eat and feed to our animals in one form or another. In my case I get to control the quality of life for the mice before they are used as food. The mice in our care live in a large cage with clean bedding, plenty of hidey holes, paper towels to shred, things to climb on, an exercise wheel, good ventilation, a controlled temperature range, full spectrum lighting on a timer, fresh water and a varied diet. I doubt seriously if any of the animals used to make kibble (or human food) are given the same quality of life before they are killed. I'm glad folks are talking about alternative diets for their ferrets: the exchange of information is one of the things that make the FML a great resource Further discussions on mice and ferrets are welcome, but flames will be routed directly to /dev/null. Leonard Bottleman [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 2542]