Just a quick note on the ferret proofing the couch idea.  If your ferret
is extremely interested and persistent, they will get in (and possibly
ruin your couch in the process).  When Cheevie was still quite young,
she got in our sofa through the bottom.  We wanted her to stop, so we fixed
the bottom so she couldn't get in.  She instead dug a hold in the back of
the sofa.  Now we have to keep that side against a wall because it's
quite ugly.  We're still not sure when she did it, we thought she was digging
at the bottom, but she did it.
 
As to letting your ferret run in the kitchen, we have done that, but the
kitchen only had a couple of places ferrets could get: behind the refrigerator,
and under the cabinets (the little overhang for ventalation in the cabinets).
We cut a piece of cardboard to fit the gaps around the refrigerator (made them
about 6.5 feet tall in case she climbed on a chair or something).  We also used
Cardboard for the vents.  We taped the vent places and poked pin holes in
the cardboard so air could still get in there.  We had no problems at all.
The place we're in now however has little gaps between every appliance, and
I just don't trust it, so we have a gate now.  I've also seen the baby gates
that open like a door, but they have bars with openings big enough for
a ferret to easily walk through.  For that you could maybe attach something
to the kitchen side of it so that Alex could open the gate and close it
instead of stepping over it.
 
Sedeca
[Posted in FML issue 1234]