Potty problems: Raen, my sympathy!  I think that with persistence you
should be able to solve this, tho.  Have you tried the advice accessible
thru www.ferretcentral.org?  I used a combination of methods suggested in
their pages & finally achieved success with a pretty incorrible ferret.
Every so often he "forgets" his training, & I have to repeat what we did,
but that's about 99% better than where we were 6 months ago... A few days
ago I read that their web site was temporarily down, but that sounded
short-term.  Good luck.  Keep us posted.
 
College dorms & pets: First- young people considering adopting a pet should
think a few years ahead!  Parents giving your kids permission to adopt
pets, help them to think ahead!
 
Having said that... Many colleges will not let first-year students live
off-campus.  (consider that when applying!) While I agree with other
writers that you should not give up the chance of a college education --
maybe you can find another school for next yr that accepts students living
off campus.  a community college, for example.  These schools are cheaper,
the student body more diverse, and, in my experience, many of the classes
of equally high quality.  If there are other colleges close to home that
accept day students, maybe you could take a few credit classes this yr
while you apply to schools for the long run that will meet your needs.
Good luck!  I hope you can work out a solution!
 
Windows: I'm lucky to live with a carpenter.  He built a screen for the
ferret room window that has 2 layers of screen: regular screen on the
outside (to keep the bugs out) & hardware cloth on the inside (to keep
the ferrets in).  Hardware cloth is heavier wire than window screen, with
larger holes...
 
Collections: Ramon has become a collector in a small way.  He has claimed
the following: an orange wool hat, a particular ball point pen, and a
rubber dog nose (like a mask, with elastic to hold it on).  He excitedly
moves them back & forth from under the couch to under the Morris chair,
then back, a few times each nite.  He also tries to take my teenage
stepson's size 13 shoes, but so far, nothing else.
 
Thank you all for your advice and stories & support & humor!
 
sharin, with
Chloe (a weasel of distinction)
and Ramon (who is getting sweeter by the day)
[Posted in FML issue 2674]