I'm so glad to hear that Fitch got home safe and sound. He has a
guardian angel watching over, that's for sure.

You can never be too careful. My first ferret Eddie (rip) got out of
our old apartment twice through a hole under the kitchen sink. The
first time, a few days after we brought him home from the pet store,
scared the life out of me. I looked up and down through the whole
apartment, didn't find him...the front door had not opened since I
let him out of his cage, and the only possibility I could find was this
opening under the sink. So I called the apartment maintenance dude
(okay, my partner did, since I called her work and got her off earlier
so she could help me, since at that point she knew ferrets more than I
did...I do try to give credit where it is due), he wouldn't come out
till morning, but he did tell us that the hole led to a subbasement.
So we went outside and circled around, found the opening to the
subbasement and managed to lift the grate off. I was about to go in
when what did we see, but Eddie's beautiful face! He heard us and came
to us, what a good boy he was. He had dirt all over his nose and had
eaten his weight in bugs and slugs (I mean he must have eaten something
down there, there was dirt in his *mouth*...and boy did he feel
heavier!)

After that we only let him out in the bedroom - his cage was in the
living room though, so he did get out one other time when we forgot to
latch the door. We knew just where to look for him, and he was there
waiting for us.

When my partner had ferrets in high school, her girl Miss went missing
twice when people forgot to watch for ferrets going in and out the
door. And then one time they found Radditzu in a gutter before they
even knew he was missing - someone had left a 2nd story window open.

Things like these are why our ferrets live in their ferret proof ferret
room - we could block off most of the danger spots in our trailer, but
the kitchen is unblockable, so we gave the ferrets the second bedroom.
Even that wasn't perfect at first - there's a gap under the door just
big enough for ferrets, and it didn't take Elsie too long to figure out
how to push a baby gate away from the door and stage a breakout. But
now we have it all set up perfectly - just so long as no one forgets
and leaves the door open or baby gate off, or forgets to leave a heavy
box up against the baby gate.

You have to be so, so very careful. To remember to latch the cage, to
seal off holes and otherwise "ferretproof", to watch your feet when
going in and out - even to make sure ferrets are allowed where you
live, because I remember one person on a forum who lost a ferret, and
her landlady took the posters down and threw away the food they had
left out - ferrets weren't allowed in the apartment, and while the
landlady's actions were (imo) morally repugnant, ultimately it was a
consequence of the owner neglecting to get permission to have a ferret.

To anyone who is currently missing a beloved ferret, I hope you find
them, and soon. No one should have to worry like that anytime, but
even more so during the holiday season when you most want all your
loved ones to be safe and healthy.

[Posted in FML 5806]