Dear Jenny,

As someone who lives in a city where ferrets are illegal and landlords
are aggressive in using any excuse to get someone out of their
apartment so they can jack up the rent, I understand your fear. Though
we are allowed to have pets, illegal animals are another matter. First
of all, don't give the ferrets away now; the landlord may never find
out about their existence. Do they make surprise inspections? Do they
have a key? It may be illegal to make surprise inspections, and it will
be much easier to hide all ferret evidence if they make an appointment,
which I would insist upon. Check out the laws in where you live
regarding pets and apartment inspections/ entrance. Keep a large piece
of fabric to throw over the cage just in case.

One time my building manager caught me off guard early in the morning,
when I was not yet fully awake and made the mistake of answering the
door and letting him in. He was checking for plants/ planters in the
window leading to the fire escape and didn't believe me when I told him
I didn't have any. He stormed through the apartment, eyeing Rocky's
cage in the living room but not saying anything about it. Luckily Rocky
was not in his cage, but sleeping somewhere else hidden from view.
Another time when he came by to check for a needed repair, I threw a
cloth over the cage.

In case Ed's method doesn't work or is too difficult to do you can try
this. I'm no expert in potty training, but this is what worked for me.
When I noticed that unlike cats, ferrets don't bury their poop but
instead merely back up into a corner of the litter pan, I removed the
litter and simply left the newspaper that lined the litter box in the
cage. As Ed mentioned, when they wake up they will have to go, but not
immediately, so you may have to wait a few minutes or more before
opening the door. Reward them for using the newspaper with a treat, so
they get used to the newspaper and making before they leave the cage.
I'm not big on negative reinforcement other than yelling "NO!" if they
are doing something wrong. The water gun never worked on Rocky, he
either didn't feel it at all or didn't mind it. And I personally would
never squirt water into their ears, that's just mean.

Let them out in one room only at a time. Look for all right angles on
the floor. Put a newspaper in the most convenient place and put some
other objects in the corners you don't want them to use. When you see
them backing up, if they are not near the newspaper, quickly pick them
up and put them on it. Reward them after they use the newspaper. You
might want to have two locations, depending on the size of the room. If
they are near the newspaper but not on it, you can say "No" and then
pick them up quickly and put them on it, then reward. I taught Rocky to
understand "Go on the paper" which he would if he was near but not on
it. They may choose their own spots and if those are ok with you, you
can simply put the newspapers there. Train them one room at a time. I
kept a newspaper in or near each room because when ferrets get into
something they wait until the last minute and all of a sudden have to
go. Also, from age 1 1/2, Rocky was free roam, no cage at all, so he
needed more spots, as he slept in different rooms.

For accidents, get a big bottle of Nature's Miracle. I never believed
it really worked until my 18 yr old cat peed all over my bed on a
relatively new expensive mattress. I soaked the pee spots with the
stuff and it never smelled--and we all know how strong/bad cat pee
smells. As far as poop goes, leaving it to dry out and become petrified
before picking it up prevents it from smearing into the rug if you
clean it while it's still fresh. Sometimes you can even lift it in one
piece. Orange clean works pretty well for any stains, though I don't
think it removes the smell like Nature's Miracle. BTW, if you feed meat
and/or Bob's CG instead of kibble, they produce much less poop as more
of the food is utilized.

You might also want to put a paper towel on top of the newspapers,
as it absorbs the pee better, and something impermeable under the
newspaper, like a piece of linoleum in case the pee soaks through the
paper.

I don't know if this method will work for your ferrets but it worked
well for mine. Rocky used his papers 99.5% of the time (and when he
didn't it was usually a revenge poop) until he was old and sick and
even then he was pretty good. You'll also never have to buy litter or
clean the litter box and if you pick up the paper just after they use
it and throw it out you'll have no odor. Not to mention how well read
you're ferrets will be LOL! Rocky was an avid reader of The New York
Times, The Village Voice, The Onion (best quality paper) and then
branched out to AM New York and West View, a neighborhood paper
All but The New York Times are free, so there's almost no expense.

I hope your carpeting isn't too light-colored, but if it is, have it
professionally cleaned, if necessary, before the inspections.

Good luck!

Shron
In memory of Rocky

[Posted in FML 6292]