To stop worrying about carpet clawing near doors, etc. here's what I do. 1. Keep your ferrets front claws trimmed down. This is not as scary as it sounds. In 40 years with ferrets, I have only ONE time accidentally nicked below the quick (of course the guilt and the painful dooking of the victim kept me from ever doing that again). To trim the front claws (I never do the back, they never need doing, though they can be sharp at times, so that is 'personal preference').... just sit on the toilet (lid up) with the ferret standing on your lap (okay you can use a chair, it's just that I keep the clippers in a bathroom cupboard)... hold the ferret around the belly with your arm and fingers holding the paw. Trim using a small cat clipper (not a big dog one). If the ferret squirms, 'scruff it' while it is still supported on your knees and talk soothingly to it until it remembers that you are Master and it is, well, not 'slave', but 'subordinate' to your commandments. You do not hurt the ferret while you are scruffing it... you are simply waiting for the 'sign of submission to your will'... which is the ferret will stop squirming and will open its mouth wide. Then stop scruffing it (look that up somewhere) and gently pet it just one or two times all the while saying something like 'there there mummsie wuvs you [name of ferret]". Then resume trimming the nails... you may find that it takes several trimmings before the ferret has 'learned' not to squirm while you trim its nails. I do not give 'treats' to distract the ferret from what is happening, because I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that all animals are trainable (I still train horses and occasionally a dog). AFTER the ferret has had his nails trimmed then I put a small amount (just a lick or two) of ferretone on my finger and let the ferret reward him/her self for his/her good behavior. Okay, you will need to do the ferret nail trimming about once a week with some ferrets, two weeks with others (kinda depends on their state of health and age). 2. Buy plastic carpet runner and cut a piece long enough to cover the doorway at the base and extend out either side a couple of feet. I actually have a carpet layer friend put down the plastic for me (on top of the carpet) because he can do a very professional job. The carpet runner is tacked into place so that the ferrets cannot 'burrow' under it. This will stop their clawing at the carpet, which is really just an attempt to dig their way out of a room. I also have a barrier piece of plexiglass cut for the doorway openings so I don't need to keep the door shut on the ferrets' room. If I am busy cleaning or working on a book or whatever, that way the ferrets can see me as I move in and out of the hallway. 3. For 'accidents', I also run carpet runner along the walls of the 'ferret room' (which is also my bedroom) and I keep half a dozen high-backed ferret-type litter boxes full of litter along the walls and in the corners. In the living room, computer room, den and dining rooms, I also have litter boxes on 3'x4' squares of carpet runner in each corner. I have found if I am very obsessive about scooping poops out of the boxes, the ferrets very graciously will always use the box. It is only as they get older (8-9 and above) that sometimes they miss the box (I think a touch of arthritis keeps them, sometimes, from actually climbing into the box)... but if they DO miss the box, they don't go on the floor but on the carpet runner. 4. IF they go on the carpet runner (or floor for some reason), make SURE you clean the spot THOROUGHLY right away to remove the urine scent... by the way I buy a large box of baking soda from Costco and I mix a handful in with the litter at every changing and sprinkle some on every time I clean too. This is a healthy way to cut down on the urine smell. 5. If you catch a ferret about to poop outside the litter box, IMMEDIATELY pick 'im up and put 'im in the litter box then LOOK AWAY... ferrets do NOT like to be watched while they are 'doing their business'. (seriously!) If a ferret manages to poop outside the litter box, immediately pick him up and put him in the 'bad ferret' cage for a '10-minute' timeout. They 'get' that they are being punished... don't be mean to them, just say 'no no!' and put him in the cage without petting, then don't look at him the entire time he/she is in the cage. Make sure you punish them no more than 10 minutes at a time, no food or water in the 'punishment cage', and the punishment cage should be out in the open where they can see the other ferrets playing. Usually you don't need to do this more than 2-3 times. Step 5 is is ONLY for young ferrets.... if you have an older ferret and he/she has just changed his litter box habits, before you do ANYthing, take the ferret into your vet for an examination as there may be a problem with their elimination system, etc. Anyway, ferrets that are old deserve a little extra consideration and tolerance. By the way I NEVER use old newspapers for litterboxes... don't care for the ink / paper contents. /Ferret Mommy [Posted in FML issue 3751]