I know this may draw many to strike out against me personally, but I think what I hear Amy saying is that she is not using proper discipline on her ferrets. Like a lot of other intelligent animals, ferrets can be trained. Any behavioral psychologist will tell you that a system of rewards and _punishments_ are necessary to successfully establish good behaviours and eliminate bad ones. I have found that with my ferret, a good shouting of "NO!" if I caught him in the act of something, and then picking him up and giving him a good sharp swat on the hind quarters was enough encentive for him to only need 2 or 3 lessons at the most to keep him from doing something that I hate to see him do, like opening doors he shouldn't be in, or using plants for litter boxes, etc. Now, 3 1/2 years after I got him he's a true joy to have as a pet. He only tries to open doors that he knows he is allowed to mess with, he always uses his litterbox, and he's declared by all my friends as being the most affectionate, playful pet of any they have ever seen, including cats and dogs. I know a lot of you may not take kindly to my hitting such a small animal, but I do know my own strength, and I haven't had to offer any punishment beyond a firm "no" in 2 years... I think it was worth the time and energy spent to have a well trained ferret. ******* Another tip for getting them to use litterboxes is to buy some Outright Oder Killer, and a bottle of Lysol spray. If you catch any waste in the wrong place deoderize that area as best you can, and that tends to keep the ferret from thinking of that place as a potty. Tossing all found waste in the litterbox, and physically setting the ferret in the box everytime you get him out to play, replacing him in the box over and over, not letting him to leave until he's at least attemped to go potty was a very successful thing that I did. Now, whenever my ferret wakes up and I'm around and he wants out, he hops straight into his box, goes, and then looks out at me as if to say, "okay, I've done my thing. open the door..." Anyway, I hope these thoughts help someone out there... Graham YoungBEar [Posted in FML issue 0565]