response to boarding ferrets:

>>...That brings me to my next question, which is what to do if I cannot
>>take them. The stay will be approx. 1 month, and I'm worried about
>>boarding them for that long. Has anyone ever done this as well?

I do not know any ferret-friendly people in my area because I have not
had the time or ability to get out and meet people. However, I do have
a wonderful vet and I board my ferrets there when I go away. They love
my critters!

I was very concerned about boarding my ferret at the vet's office for
my last vacation because I was going to be away for almost a month.
However, my vet and his assistants assured me that they take the ferret
out and let her run around in an exam room every day, plus I know they
pay attention to her. When I got home, she seemed just the same as
ever, although I think she didn't want to come home. ;-)

===
Laura Holland said:

>Why wouldn't you just block access to the kitchen altogether? There's
>just far too many hazards in there to allow them to be in there.

Sometimes you can't block access to the kitchen, depending on the
layout of your house/apartment. The only way I can block access to my
kitchen is to block access to the whole apartment with the exception of
the bedroom, bathroom, and hallway. It certainly would keep the ferret
safe from kitchen problems, but it would also limit the interaction
between me and the ferret, since I don't spend much time in either the
bedroom or the bathroom.

I had tried to block access to the back of the fridge early on, but I
couldn't find an efficient way to do it. I settled for carefully
monitoring them in the kitchen and making sure they couldn't get behind
the stove. Fortunately, my ferrets are much more interested in all the
other clutter that I have lying around and didn't come into the kitchen
much.

As for ferrets getting under foot, that's just expected when you have
ferrets and you learn to step around them. If I am cooking something
that could be dangerous to ferrets if spilled, then I lock the ferrets
in the bedroom until I'm finished cooking. You just use common sense.

Would my perspective be different if, like you, I had lost a ferret to
a kitchen accident? Possibly, possibly not. I would probably be more
vigilant about restricting access to the stove and fridge, but I think
I would still allow ferrets to run free in my apartment in general.

Inez

[Posted in FML 6969]