Hi all!  Seems everyone has trouble with this!  My new baby, Pepper, is the
only ferret I've had that uses the box 99% of the time.  I've been SO
impressed!  He has two boxes, a plastic shoe box in his cage, and a 9x13 pan
behind the printer cart--the corner of his choice.  He is confined the the
living room only, so this is enough.  He does tend to poop behind the fridge
if he gets in the kitchen, though!
 
The cage box is wired in place so he doesn't move it and go behind it, and
if I don't clean it out every day he will go next to it instead of in it.
If I keep it clean, he uses it.  The box behind the printer card is wedged
against the wall by the cart.
 
I use Tidy Cat clumping litter, and so far haven't had a problem with it
clumping in his nose or fur, but he does *love* to take a "swim" in clean
litter!  This litter has a faint pleasant odor--I've found that the Multiple
Cat variety is too strong and they don't like to get too close to it!  Now
that he does use the box 99% of the time, I'm not about to change to a
different kind of litter unless I notice a problem with what I'm using.
 
The first few days Pepper was here I gave him a few drops of Linatone
whenever I saw him back into the box, and kept a firm eye on him his first
15 minutes or so out of his cage.
 
The shoebox has very high sides, so I cut an opening in one side for easy
access--the side away from the pooping corner.
 
One note about cleaning up messes: Pepper is my first male ferret, and this
sounds like a no-brainer, but I didn't realize males urinate about an inch
forward of where they defacate, so for a short time I wasn't getting
everything cleaned up properly!  This thought never occured to me until I
saw him in the box one day and noticed *where* the litter clumped!  I use
Resolve carpet cleaner, and it seems to hide the smell pretty good, as long
as I get the whole area cleaned up.
 
If it's any consolation, I had Smokey for 2 years and she *never* used the
box consistently.  When I got Whiskey, who was box trained, Smokey quickly
taught HER not to use the box!  I gated them in the kitchen for easier clean
up . . . sigh, what else is there to do?
 
A note on collars, too--Smokey hated cat collars, which were too wide on her
neck.  On a 3-day Greyhound ride, a wonderful fellow passenger said, "Why
not buy rawhide boot laces, cut them to fit, and tie them on?" It works!  I
make them loose enough to slide over the head, and of course take it off at
bath time.  The rawhide ages quickly and the knot seals against itself to
hold.  Thin, comfortable, and some bells slide right on.
 
And to Tom the Pharmicist:  Shouldn't matter if your new baby is male or
female, as long as all are spayed or neutered, they should get along fine
after a period of adjustment.
 
Enough for now!
 
--Sherri
[Posted in FML issue 1730]