Hi everyone:  I never considered myself lucky to receive my sister's
"hand-me-down" living room furniture - until I got my five children!  My
sister lives upstairs and has cats who had sharpened their claws on either
side of the couch, leaving long slits which require covering with an afghan
or throw.  Since the rest of the couch looked fine, I took the couch and used
the throws.  Now my little ones have not only an entrance but an exit from
the back of the couch, and they play in there often.  Of course, the afghans
end up on the floor, but my house is not my own at this point anyway!
Someone mentioned last week about how "different" a house looks where ferrets
reside.  Boy can I attest to that one!  Luckily anyone who comes to my house
is aware of why things look the way they do!  I have 2 x 4s behind the
refrigerator, between the stove and refrigerator, all trash cans (if not able
to go inside cabinets) on top of dressers or tables; PVC tubing in every
room, including under my bed, where they hide all the shoelaces from my
shoes. I went the entire winter in my Nikes, because the laces were methodically
removed from all my ankle height booties you wear to create somewhat of a
style!  They can no longer play in my bedroom closet, as my lighter weight
shoes have all disappeared as well.  I do leave out old socks and shoes for
them to play with, letting them believe they're hiding good stuff from Mom.
By the way, whoever wrote about "Food Lady" was hysterical.  I'm still
laughing.  So true, so true.  In my dining room, I have a lovely round table
with a floor length tablecloth, but no chairs.  If I leave the chairs around
the table, they climb on the chair, to the table and leap  over to my desk
and mess with my computer and "stuff".  So at the present time, my chairs are
neatly lined up behind my couch in the living room (similar to bus seats).
Hey, if people want to be my friends and come to my home, what they see is
what they get.  My guys welcome me with ten beautiful eyes when I get home
from work, and that's what keeps me going.  They have their own room, which
was my daughter's before college.  In it they have their cage for night
sleeping only (large rabbit hutch with lots of cozy blankets, etc.), lots of
PVC tubes, standard ferret toys like cozy fuzzy pockets and tunnels, etc.,
and food and water always left out.  Not that they spend a great deal of time
in their own room!  They much prefer unlacing my shoes and hiding them where
they'll never see the light of day.  My heart goes out to anyone with a brand
new couch, because I know what would happen in my house.  I should say, I
know what would happen in THEIR house!  So, I'll hold on to my hand-me-down
and let everyone be happy.  The couch is where they have always hidden their
toys, and if I messed with that, I'd be in BIG trouble!
 
My hearts to out to all of you who have lost your little pals recently.  As
Bill Clinton says, "I feel your pain".  I think any ferret lover feels your
pain, and that's what makes us all so much alike.
 
Best to everyone - Judi, Riley (I'm the oldest and the best looking, so I get
my treat first), Murphy (just put on my music box and get these guys away
from it), Casey (I'm just a pile of loveable mush, so give me a hug), Bailey
(I used to be the baby until that new guy got here - I need a hug too)  and
Taz (I'm glad that little boy gave me to you and got a dog, because being in
a cage all day was the pits!)
[Posted in FML issue 1155]