[Karen writes about Duncan, the impossible-to-bathe ferret.] Like you, I only bathe my ferrets very occasionally. As several FML members have suggested, I find that washing their bedding frequently is a much better way to keep the odor down. One of my guys (Gilbert the discount ferret) is basically terrified of baths too. Conveniently, he's not the one made out of solid muscle (Boomer), but he is plenty squirmy anyway. One guaranteed way to give Gilbert (or any ferret) a bath is to put him in "The Ferret Hold." It's a good idea for their claws to be neatly trimmed before you try this, since their back legs aren't as perfectly restrained as one might hope. In case no one ever showed you (and a live demo or a picture would be a lot clearer, but this is email...), here's a description of The Ferret Hold. Extend your forearm horizontally with your palm up. Lay the ferret tummy-down along your arm, with his head between your spread out index and middle fingers. Curl those two fingers up on each side of his neck, a little towards his shoulder blades. Put one arm down the gap between your thumb and index finger, and the other down the gap between your middle and fourth finger. Use your opposable thumb to reach as far as possible over his back behind his shoulders to your fourth and little fingers. The end result is that your hand works like a figure-8 harness, and you can hold the ferret's shoulders and neck very securely (so securely that he won't be able to bite, in fact), while supporting the hind end with your arm. If the hind end needs to be restrained, hold your arm against your body. Also, when their hind legs are straddling your arm, they can't get much leverage to squirm or claw you. With a truly squirmy and muscular ferret, you will still have a handful, but you should be able to take him in the shower, and you should still have one hand free to do the scrubbing. I try to hold Gilbert as close to my chest as possible so he doesn't think he's being held in space (which is supposed to be scary to polecats, and seems to be a little scary for Boomer). Gilbert was originally so terrified of baths or showers that he would pee and/or poo all over (yuck), but after many showers, I think he realizes that I'm not actually going to kill him. The odd thing is that Gilbert is the ferret that likes to submerge his head in buckets of water and stir with his head. He also likes to play in the damp bathtub. But baths are still awful, as far as he is concerned. Good Luck bathing 'em! Dennis [Posted in FML issue 1557]