>From:    - C J England <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: death couches
>1.  We put 2 inch boards around the bottom sealing it completely off.  Works
>like a charm.  That was the easy part.
>2.  Now that the bottom was sealed off, the little fur balls figured they
>could get in from the top.  The way we dealt with this was to cover the
>couch.  You could either make your own, or buy a couch cover.  Ours, I made.
 
I too have a sleep sofa.  I never open it unless someone's staying, which
isn't often, and even then I cage the guys so they don't get caught
accidentally, so the danger to the ferrets is almost nil.  But otherwise the
woozles would climb up in from underneath and scratch the stuffin' out from
inside the back of it, while it was in its sofa position.  Well, that
obviously couldn't go on, so I went and got enough half inch by half inch
galvanized mesh to cover it, and a staple gun, flipped the sofa over and
stapled the mesh to the wood frame all along the bottom.
 
Well!  They sure were confused for a while, but finally realized that there
was another way to get in -- through the top!  They would scratch their way
past the cushions (making the fabric fuzzy in spots as a result) and then
run around in there until they wanted out, at which point they would scratch
and claw until either they got out, or I hauled them out.
 
SO.  Anybody want to buy a nice queen size sleep sofa?  Just kidding.... but
I am planning on selling it, and buying a futon with a frame.  Not nearly as
nice, but at least they won't be able to get inside of it, and even if they
scratch up the futon cover, I can buy a replacement cover.  But I think once
they realize there's no where to GO, they probably won't be clawing it much.
I thought of buying a couch cover for the sofa, but I just KNOW that it
won't stop them for long.  They'll find a way under it.  Better to sell the
couch while it's still in a good condition, than wait until it's ruined.
 
Karen
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Today the wind had a milder range,
And seems to hint of a secret change,
For the gossipy breezes bring to me
The delicate odor of buds to be,
In the gardens and groves of spring.
                                -- William Hamilton Hayne
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[Posted in FML issue 1900]