I'd like to thank everyone for their kind responses to my post. This is the second ferret I've lost in the past few months, and while I'm certainly sad and miss them very much, the passing of Easel and Noodle leaves silly, impish Friday without any pals. (Potpie, of course, remains solitary and cranky and is perhaps the only one happy that there are now fewer ferrets in the house. There is always a silver lining? :) At any rate, we're currently fortunate enough to have the ferret-sitter's ferrets visiting, so Friday has two huge, doofy boys to beat up on for the next 1.5 weeks. However, I am faced with a few questions. I can offer Friday, plus cage and $$ for care and medical expenses, to the ferret sitter. I could have all three ferrets over for visits regularly. But, he may not want an additional ferret, and Friday would not do well without a companion (she's a very ferret-oriented ferret, and thinks people are big toys for nipping at and pushing into games). That possibly puts me in the unique position of wanting to adopt a 5yr old or older ferret for a companion for Friday. We will see. As I mentioned above, Potpie is doing well. We discovered that a bit of ferretone makes the prednisone go down. :) She's slowly winning over a non-pet person to the Ferret Way - this person doesn't mind pets but isn't terribly attached to them, but Potpie's working him firmly under her paw (she's even got him cooing nonsensically at her). I sacrificed a spare litterbox and the remainder of the season's potting soil (and my hardwood floors) to give her a place to filth around and dig. It's a great hit, and only takes a few seconds to sweep up... If you haven't discovered it yet, tissue paper and a paper bag make one of the best ferret toys ever. You know how they like crinkly plastic bags, but those aren't entirely safe? Buy a package of tissue paper, loosely crumple it, and fill a big grocery bag. Presto, hours of noisy, easy-to-clean entertainment. Take care, Melissa, Potpie, and Friday - [log in to unmask] - This is a coin hold of great beak bird style. - [Posted in FML issue 2826]