Thanks to everyone who responded to my dilemma, they made me feel better.
I didn't go into details much the first time, but the ferrets live in the
basement, by the laundry area, it is an open space that is blocked off by
some shelves.  They can see people coming down the stairs, and have a pet
gate they come up to to check & see who's around.  They have two cages,
one 3 story and another 2 story, connected by a tube (plastic originally
now completely covered with duct tape as they kept digging their way
through it), and a play area of about 10 feet by 8 or so.  It appears they
have enough space and stuff to play with, plus themselves, it's just the
personal attention I used to give them is less now.  Sometimes we leave
them out for a while, but I have found that, alas, they need to be in their
cage for a certain amount of time to be "recharged", so to speak, otherwise
they pee etc. all over the place (half the time not even near the litter
boxes).  They do have a new roommate though--a hedgehog, who has his own
cage.  They are sort of amused by him, but he only comes out at night...
 
Anyway, thanks for the helpful and supportive responses!  We're looking
forward to that day, whenever it occurs, that Audrey wakes up, so to speak,
and notices the zoo at her fingertips...
 
Minta & Linus, Ralph & Winnie
[Posted in FML issue 3529]