To Brad re: how did Tasha get into the kitchen cabinet? The kitchen is my ferrets' favorite room. All those cabinets filled with stuff just waiting to be dragged out. Also, it's their favorite storage area. I'm always finding dog toys and other assorted objects in with the pots and pans. One of Norm's favorite challenges is to make it up to the kitchen counter and play with everything on it, before I discover him. My guys get into drawers from underneath (how they squash themselves under there, I don't know.) And they get from the bottom drawer to the top drawer from behind the drawers.I have all the top drawers taped shut with duct tape, because that's Norm's main access to the countertop. Now they figured out the lazy susan cabinet, and get up to the counter that way. If Tasha can get out of a cage, getting into a kitchen cabinet is probably easy (though I'm surprised she couldn't get back out.) Anyway, I'm guessing she gets in from below somewhere. At some point, you may see a little nose poking out from below the cabinet and you'll know her secret. Re: kids and ferrets As with any pet, I'd say a lot depends on the child. I don't like to see very young kids with cats or dogs either, unless the parents are *very good* about super- vising them. A lot of little kids are way too rough on animals, and I think many of the bites and scratches that kids get were probably from teasing the family dog or cat--but who gets the blame? usually the pet. My nephew loves my ferrets. He likes to be chased by them, which gets the ferrets very excited and they nip his ankles. He thinks it's fun, and he happens to be very good around animals. Some kids might not like it. I don't think any pet should be the sole responsibility of a young child. And some kids are much better with animals than others. When I was at a ferret show last year, there were several kids who were carrying their ferrets around with them all day. Can you spend some time with your son around someone else's ferret (maybe babysit one for a weekend) and see how it goes? I really think it can vary greatly with the child and with the animal as well. Good luck! --Cinderella, Norm & Ralph's mom Cinderella, Princess Ankle-biter Norm, Fearless Conqueror of the Kitchen Counter Ralph, Curator of the Squeaky Toy Collection [Posted in FML issue 1124]