It IS possible to ferret-proof a recliner, although not terribly easy. My husband bought some wire mesh at the hardware store, then took the recliner apart and stapled/wired the mesh over every bottom opening our ferrets could get into. The recliner still works just fine, but now the ferts are baffled by the wire mesh. One note of caution--you have to make sure that you take care of EVERY opening, because if a way in is left, rest assured your little FLO agents will find it! <g> Faerie accepted defeat much more gracefully than Scamper, who spent most of an evening trying to defeat the wire mesh. Now he just sort of lingers under the chair hopefully for a few minutes, then goes on about his business (i.e., usually trying to liberate the lip balm from the bowl on the coffee table, but that's another story). I got a laugh out of the post about the ferret jumping over to the coffee table. Scamper does that too, and can jump about 2 feet with ease. But one afternoon I had moved the table only about a foot away from the sofa, and he just couldn't quite adjust his trajectory. He'd make a massive spring and then go skittering completely across the table and fall off the other side onto the carpet. It was pretty funny to watch, but he was completely undaunted. And, of course, finally he made it. If nothing else, ferrets are certainly an object lesson in perseverance! I too read with horror Dayna's post about the abused ferret, and am glad he seems to be making such a good recovery. He is and is going to be an inspiration, just watch. As for the evil, sick, twisted person who did this to him, I only hope that the divine force will someday return the favor. Barbara, Scamper, and Faerie [Posted in FML issue 1565]