Stimpy--my 16-wk-old carpet shark--has discovered an unintentional ferret
toy.  I had purchased a length of fiberglass window screen to repair a rip.
The screen came in a big sheet, so I rolled it into a tube and left it next
to the window until I had a chance to replace the screen.  You can guess the
rest...Stimpy loves crawling through the tube, and because it's possible to
see throughthe screen, I can play with him inside the tube by tickling him
from the out- side of the tube.  He can see my fingers so he can react when
I come after him.  Because there is enough screen material to circle around
several times, it's also possible to put one of his toys in between a layer
of screen adjacent to the part of the tube that he is in.  So, he can see
the toy, smell it and even feel its outline through the screen, but he can't
get at it, and of course, he goes nuts trying to get to it.
 
The nice thing is that fiberglass screen is fairly inexpensive, it doens't
have sharp edges that could scratch his face or eyes as he dives in, and I
can fold up the tube and put it where he can reach it, and he grabs it and
unfolds it whenever he wants to play with it.  What a clever ferret.  He
hasn't tried to cut through the screen and he doesn't seem to relate the
roll of screen with the functional object that keeps him from falling out of
windows (good thing, eh?).  I've heard people on the FML talk about using
PVC piping for ferret toys but this might be easier to store away when not
in use, and if he ever has an "accident" in the screen tube, all I have to
do it hose it off outside.  Such a deal.  --Jeff Stimpy (Why can't I get
that toy?)
[Posted in FML issue 1328]