To Mason and family:
 
I've been a ferret owner for ten years, so when my husband and I decided to
have children, there was NO way the ferrets were going anywhere.
 
To answer your question about how to keep children away from missed
mistakes: in my experience, you'll soon find that's the least of the things
your kid(s) will get into.  Once children get to be a little older (over a
year) you can begin explaining to them why not to touch the "mistakes" on
the floor.  However, we're not to that point yet.
 
We have a 10 month old who is quite mobile and finds the litter pans
fascinating.  Considering we have to keep an eye on her constantly anyway
for ANYTHING she puts in her mouth, it's just a matter of steering her away
from the litter pans and ferret "mistake" areas.  It's no different than
steering her away from wall sockets (yes we use the plastic protectors),
electrical wires or the phone cord.  Really.  At least in *our* experience.
 
BTW, ferrets and baby get along well at this point: she chases them and they
run away!  We did have nipping problems early on with one but even that's
pretty much a nonissue.
 
Amy, Dave & Sarah (and their gaggle of giggling ferrets)
RIP Ian and Elektra
[Posted in FML issue 2243]