As the summer starts to come here to wonderful Arizona... I wanted to
take a minute to remind everyone about screens and ferrets.  Simply put..
though a screen on a window or door may keep bugs out... it sure doesn't
keep ferrets in.
 
My first experience with them.....
 
We had just one ferret (Spice).  She was our first and was only about 11
weeks old.  She was running around my room and I had my window open.  It
was late in the evening.  Now, you can get to the window because the bed
was pushed up against it.  I was watching her run around and play on the
floor.  Didn't think anything about the screen though I knew she might be
able to get out of it if she tried.
 
I went into the computer room to talk to Shawn for a couple minutes.
Then I went to check in on her and saw the cat batting at something
outside the window....then I saw 2 things at once... a 3 inch tear in
the screen about a foot above the window sill and Spice on the outside
of the window on the small ledge.  I screamed to Shawn that she got out
and ran outside.
 
I ran down the hall, through the kitchen and dining room to the back
door.  Out the porch, through the stickers and rocks and dirt (where
there SHOULD be grass) all the way to the end of the house where my
window was..... all bare-foot.  She was still there when I got there
(felt like it took me 2 hours to get to her when I think it was under
30 seconds).  I scooped her up and hugged her and then tip-toed my way
back to the house.
 
Now all the windows only open just enough to get air through (less than
1/2 an inch).
 
She scared me something good and taught me a lesson... She can do
anything!  and that a ferret can get through a screen quickly and without
any noise.
 
Had it been light out, she might have jumped off the ledge outside and
would have been gone.
 
A year or so later our other ferret Chocolate got out through the back
door.  The screen door was metal... but not latched all the way.  Luckily
we were on the side of the house that she came too.  We all stopped what
we were doing and got her without a problem... however, had she gone to
the other side of the house... we wouldn't have seen her.
 
SO..... just be careful and aware of what they could get into... or out
of...
 
Joanne
[Posted in FML issue 4496]