Hi there! In response to the skunk smell in the car. A colleague of mine swears by this method. She is now trying to get manure smell out of the trunk. You take coffee grounds (not instant and not used but fresh perc coffee out of the can) and spread them liberally over the floor of the trunk. Let stand for a few hours, overnight, or when the smell seems to have dissipated. Vacuume up the grounds and all should be well. Notice I said all "should" be well. I have not tried this method but she says it works. BTW, I have wanted a pet skunk and a pet racoon since I was...well lets just say for many years but because of our city by-laws, we are not allowed to have them. Wire cages? (Cringe) Only if necessary. We have a couple, but only use them in an emergency. This is why. Huggy Bear (Bear for short) was trying to climb up his cage one day and slipped off backwards. Luckily we were in the room at the time. We heard this blood curdling scream and found Bear hanging upside down by his penis. I won't go into details but there was a lot of blood and needless to say he was rushed to emergency. Here is another reason. Jasper was in a wire cage until we were able to get a large pet carrier. About 2 minutes before the cage exchange (again, luckily I was right there), I noticed Jasper climbing up on top of his cage and having trouble. The penis has a hook on the end and as he was climbing up he pushed against the cage and it hooked around one of the wires. Do you think I could get him unhooked? Wow! It took some doing but it finally came loose. What would have happened if I wasn't there? I shudder to think about it. We hate these death traps. We are always afraid that the fuzzies will get a leg caught and really mangle it. They could be hanging for hours waiting until we get home from work to rescue them. Maybe that would be too late for someone. Sorry to be so morbid but I know somebody out there needs to hear this. We use the large plastic pet carriers. Yes they have a wire mesh door and that sometime scares me too but it is better than having the whole cage made of wire. A bonus is what I can do to the litter pan. You know how the little fuzz buckets always shift the pan out of place and then miss, etc. etc.? Well, I use vegetable bins with high backs and a low front, drill a hole through the pan and the cage, and bolt it in. What a difference this makes. It has saved a lot of frustration. Cam and Therese Miller. Owned by Sarah, Jasper, Mookie, Nikki, Sadie, BJ, Benji, Scooter, Snoopy, Josie and Buddy. Lets not forget our faithful dog Tawny. Tryntje Miller Net:[log in to unmask] Conrad Grebel College Library Tel: (519) 885-0220 ext. 239 Waterloo, Ontario Fax: (519) 885-0014 N2L 3G6 [Posted in FML issue 1386]