Dear Heather, Ferrets were made illegal a few years ago by an egomaniac control freak mayor. There was some story about a ferret biting someone. It was stupid, because ferrets are legal in new york state. There are water pipes that go through my apartment to the apartments below and above, but there's no way a ferret could get into them. Everyone has to ferret-proof their apartment; maybe it just takes a bit more effort in an old building. Like in the kitchen, where the appliances aren't all attached and closed off like in newer apartments. I had a problem with mice a while ago, so I had to plug up any little space I could find in the floor boards or around pipes, but a ferret could not get into these holes, only a tiny mouse. So you can tell your uncle it has nothing to do with pipes. I don't know where he got that idea. Has he even been to NYC? Shron P.S. I am not mad but you have to understand that we certainly don't expect people on FML to think it's ok for ferrets to be illegal in NYC. If there's any place we should get support for legaliztion, it's here where people know and love ferrets. [Posted in FML issue 4027]