To Melissa and Potpie: All of our kids live in the basement, in what is supposedly to be the family room. We've had no problems beyond the problems usually associated with Minx, the Smartest Ferret in the World. She found a way to get up to one of the window well shelves, dug a hole through the screen, climbed up 6 feet of steel window well siding, and shoved a window well cover out of the way so she could go traipsing around the yard. If you have similar arrangements, replace any nylon mesh screen with steel mesh and BOLT DOWN your window well covers. Steve and Colleen Continually Matching Wits with Missy, Newone, Zebulon Pike, Minx, Slinky, Puck, and Ripple [Posted in FML issue 1233]