>5. Any and all "crinkly" plastic bags from the grocery store (I no longer
>   recycle these -- I just throw them on the floor when I get home.  When
>   the floor looks too cluttered I pick them up and stuff them into a
>   closed cardboard box with a hole cut into the side...
 
All responsible adults are aware of the dangers of plastic bags and the
possibilities of suffocation.  I should think you would all assume I'm a
responsible adult -- but apparently some of you don't.  :-)  Thank you for
your concerned comments.  Now, for those of you who haven't told me so but
are thinking it: Yes, I'm cautious about it and I cut the handles open and
cut or tear open the bottoms of the bags as well, so there's no way to get
"trapped" in the bag.
 
Also, ferrets are so flexible and resourceful, the same traits that get them
into trouble just as often (and easily) get them out of it.
 
Just as some of us have decided that a life without any food that's "bad"
for you isn't worth living (I might live 5 years longer if I eat more
carrots and broccoli, but UGH, who wants five more years of that?) I believe
that, to an animal as curious and hyperactive as a ferret, a boring life is
worse than no life at all.  I let mine do whatever they want and go wherever
they want, so long as (a) they can't escape outside or get "caught" in
anything, (b) they can't destroy or hide anything I REALLY need (like my
house keys or my bus pass!), and (c)I can keep an eye on them most of the
time.
 
No matter how careful you are, a ferret will find a way to get into trouble,
so why obsess?  The only way they can be kept absolutely safe is to be kept
caged permanently, wrapped up like a papoose, being fed intravenously. I'd
rather mine lived lives full of the absolute maximum fun and adventure that
I can contrive for them.  Of course, it's never enough.  They're insatiable.
(I wonder how much it would cost to build a ferret-size roller coaster in my
dining room? Hmmmmmm ...)
[Posted in FML issue 1446]