Hi,
 
I am a first-time ferret owner.  I did quite a bit of research before
becoming an owner so I know a good amount of basic information on my pet.
HOWEVER...
 
My ferret is 6 months old.  She litter trained very easily when first
brought home.  Around 3 months she began having accidents downstairs (her
cage is upstairs) in the corners so I put litter boxes in those two corners.
She began to use one of the two boxes downstairs consistently when she was
free and never the second box, so I removed it.  That solved the problem for
a while.  About 6 weeks ago she began to have accidents again.  This time
however she would pee or poop just a couple of inches away from the litter
box !  Two weeks ago she pooped right under the chair I was sitting in while
at the computer !  (She has done this twice).  And last week she got up on
my computer printer and did her business there !  This morning I caught her
trying to do it on the printer again, so I placed here in the litter box,
she jumped out.  I watched her for about 5 minutes while she simply walked
around a little bit and watched me, watching her.  Then as soon as I went
back to my work she proceeded to pee on a Tupperware cover that was on the
floor !
 
I have cleaned up all messes with vinegar & water.  She uses her litter box
while she is caged, without fail.  She has a huge 3 story cage, lots of toys
and tunnels.  She's allowed to roam (when she's good) 4-7 hours per day
She gets at least 20-30 minutes of direct attention from me.  When my 10
year old boy is here (every other week) she gets 1:1 attention from him.
(She has done these things even when my son is home.)
 
I love my ferret, (Missy) and it was my original idea to get another at the
end of this summer.  I'm at a loss though, on what to do to fix this problem
and make us all happy with each other again.
 
ANY suggestions anyone may have would be so, so appreciated.
 
Thank you,
 
Lauren
 
If desired, private email can be addressed to:
 
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[Posted in FML issue 1985]