Yesterday I was trimming the ferrets' nails and Ringo - who's normally dead weight when you scruff him - jerked just as I was clipping the nail. The nail cut too close and started bleeding pretty badly. I got the bleeding under control but didn't want to let him down on the carpet in case it started bleeding again. I couldn't put him back in the cage because I'd just removed all of the bedding and put it in the wash. So I put a big towel down on the bathroom floor and stuck one of their cuddle cup beds in there and shut the door. A little bit later I had to use the bathroom. And when I opened the door I found him struggling like mad - he'd caught his head between the drain pipe and the warm water pipe for my clawfoot tub!! Thankfully I was able to steady his body and slide his head out and free him but OMIGOD he could have died!!! He could have strangled or broken his neck from thrashing about. God I'm so glad I had to go to the bathroom or I may have been too late. I set up the ferret playpen in my living room and put him in there and gathered the rest and put them with him. This is a prime example of how one should ferret proof EVERY room in their home - even those that the ferrets aren't going to allowed into. I gate off between the living room and kitchen so they have no access to the kitchen, bathroom or utility room. I looked around and fixed any holes in the kitchen cabinets and made sure the cabinets latched tight but I never got down on the ground and looked for hazards in the bathroom - nor have I looked at the utility room. And not doing so nearly cost Ringo his life. You never know when a ferret may escape into the unferretproofed areas of your home. You may let them out, forgetting the gate isn't up yet, bigger pets might knock the gate down or the gate ends up being one that someone manages to get over. This weekend I'm going to work on making sure my kitchen, utility room and bathroom are all safe for the fuzzies. I'm just glad I was given this second chance to make sure my ferrets are protected. Let's make sure all of ours are. Laura and The Ferretocious Four at http://www.ferretocious.com [Posted in FML 5675]