Kimjo-- Sorry, I didn't have your name to respond to! Ferrets do quite well in apartments, but you may find the need to make a few minor structural changes to be sure the apartment is safe for the ferret. We live in an apartment with three ferrets. We have duct taped up the only way behind the refrigerator to keep them out from under and behind it (ferret in a motor fan would be bad!). They can't get into the stove. Cabinets under sinks have child safety locks on them to keep the ferrets out so we can store chemicals there and because the builders of apartments tend to do sloppy things like knock giant holes through the sheetrock to install plumbing. If a ferret got into one of these cabinets and found the hole around the pipes it could be into the wall in no time! Check the kickboards under all cabinets to be sure that they are completely sealed. Some of these leave gaps such that the ferret can crawl under the cabinet! We added one of those metal and rubber strips to the inside of the door into our laundry room to keep the ferrets away from those large appliances. Check to see that there is no way for the ferret to get under or beside the dishwasher because they're sometimes not particularly well-fitted when installed. Some advantages to choosing a ferret as a pet in an apartment are 1) They can be fairly well litter trained and do not require outside walks for bathroom purposes. 2) They require little space. 3) As long as they are raised with caging, they are quite comfortable being caged and regard the cage as their safe home spot. 4) They sleep for many hours out of the day and aren't especially destructive or depressed if left alone for several hours so long as they do get regular attention when you are home. A good beginning book is "Ferrets" by Chuck & Fox Morton, published by Barrons. "Ferrets in Your Home" by Wendy Winstead is also a good book, but it's pricy, going for about $30 in all the pet stores I've seen it in here. When you become ready for more advanced reading, we'll send you after the veterinary textbook! ;> Lucky you to know someone GIVING AWAY ferrets! Hope you decide ferrets are the pet for you! Debra Ferrets are like Lays potato chips: you can't have just one! [Posted in FML issue 0665]