Hi,
 
 My name is Mark Zmyewski (pronounced: ze myoo' skee) and I'm in Huntsville,
 Alabama.  My roommate and I purchased a female sable (Snookie) about one
 month ago from a friend who was working too much and couldn't take care of
 her the way he wanted.  Snookie is 17 months old.  I have a couple of questions
 I'd like to ask.  I haven't seen any postings regarding this particular
 "ploblem", so if it has indeed been discussed, please accept my apologies.
 
 As most ferrets, (I guess  ;-)  ), Snookie tends to use the corners of rooms
 as litter boxes.  Her cage is in my study, which is a little smaller than a
 standard bedroom.  When she arrived, we bought a bigger cage for her and put
 a litter tray in it.  It took her a while to get used to her new home, but
 she adapted quickly.  Accept...
 
 Litter training.
 
 When locked in her cage, she had no choice but to use the tray we set up for
 her.  Outside the cage, but within the study, I *thought* she was devoloping
 a pattern as to where she would "go"...but...now I'm confused.  When we go
 to work, we open the cage, but close the study door and allow her to play in
 the room all day.  I noticed that instead of using the tray in her cage, she
 "went" elsewhere.  "OK", I thought, "I'll just put another tray in the corner
 of the room".  Well, to make a long story short, I got her used to using the
 tray outside the cage, but lately she's even using places inside the room that
 aren't even corners.  She's "going" against the flat part of the wall/floor.
 Now I'm confused.  Is she bored?  We play with her every chance we get while
 we're home.  Do I need to confine her again to her cage and start all over
 again?  I've read that some ferrets just don't litter train too well.  Maybe
 she's one that will take more training.  Hmmm....
 
 Anyway, I would be very interested in discussing this with anyone who has
 suggestions.  My e-mail address is "[log in to unmask]", and my home
 phone number is (205) 533-3767.  I would even be willing to call anyone
 who is willing to discuss this because sometimes there's just too much
 information that's needed to put into an e-mail message.
 
 I really like Snookie and am even thinking about evenutally getting a playmate
 for her.  I've always wanted a ferret and, now at 33 (well, I'll be 33 in
 one week), I finally have one!  I sometimes feel like a little kid when I'm
 playing with her.   :-)
 
 Thanks for listening!
 
 -Mark Zmyewski,
    Data analyst, musician, SCUBA diver, tennis player, *happy* ferret owner.
[Posted in FML issue 1192]