Dear Friends,
 
A long time ago we realized all the fuzzies were smarter than we are, and
so we had to put on heavy thinking caps to figure out ways to keep them out
of forbidden rooms.
 
First, the art studio.  We made old fashioned wooden screen doors with
rabbit wire rather than screening and hung them complete with spring for
door closure and hook and eye door holders.  We then took a lesson from the
pioneers and attached a leather thong to the the hooks (they were put on
both sides of the doors) and this works well as a latch string to open the
hook that is closed on the opposite side of the door the person is on.  In
ten years, no fuzzie has figured out this system.  The kitchen has a
half-gate again covered with rabbit wire and topped with a 12" wide top.
They can climb up the wire but they can't reach far enough from underneath
to swing themselves up over the flattop.  To keep them out of the laundry
area we built a folding gate which can be hooked open when the dear hearts
are sound asleep in their cages.  The bottom half of this gate is rabbit
wire, the top half is plywood that is longer than their reach.  Again, hooks
and eyes work to keep the gate secure.
 
Long ago the recliner was bagged.  We bought the heaviest available drapery
and upholstering fabric that we could find and sewed the recliner into the
bag.  No zippers, no drawstrings, nothing but heavy stitching all around.
It can be shampooed with the Bissel when it gets dirty.  The recliner handle
was forced through a very small hole before the bag was sewn up and the bag
is big enough so that the recliner can be used as a recliner.  HOWEVER, the
rule is that no one sits in the recliner when the littles are out.  Guests
are firmly planted on the couch.  Purses are put on top of the piano which
they haven't figured out how to scale.  !  x 4 encloses the bottom of the
couch so they cannot get in there.  Basically, they are confined to the
living room for fun, and sleeping, as we keep the cages there, where they
are still part of the family even if something is going on that requires
them being caged.  By confining them to one room, it makes the search for
the hiding one much quicker.  People laugh at our gates, but we just calmly
remind them that in our house, fuzzies come first.  When the fuzzies are out
to play, the dogs are in their respective sleeping crates.  The cats, of
course, stay as far away as possible.  Signs are posted on our doors,
stating "Please watch the doors, ferrets live here.
 
Sometimes it gets pretty tricky, balancing a tray of snacks while opening a
door with 4 fuzzies determined to get on my side of it.  If one does,
everything stops until we catch the rascal and get him or her back in the
safe room.
 
Sincerely, Cheryl Nordgulen
[Posted in FML issue 2040]