>From: BRIAN <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Ferret-proofing >...tell me what to look for, including some mysterious places where >ferrets can get. I can tell you what to look for for MY weasels & the off-limit nook & crannies THEY favor, but no one can tell you what surprises your fuzzies have in store for you. It's time for you to get down on you hands & knees - for a ferret-eye-view - to *ferret out* anywhere they can squeeze their little head through. Where head can go, body will follow. Check your kitchen, bathrooms, laundry, & basement very carefully if your fuzzy will have access. Look under cabinet facing, around appliances, where pipes go into walls, & determine where your fuzzy will be able to get into your cabinets where there are hidden pipes & toxic household products (some weaselies love to puncture plastic bottles & aluminium cans). Be aware that they can be stepped on under rugs, squished under cushions, crushed in closing doors, thrown into the washer w/the laundry, closed in the dishwasher, dryer, or frig, & just about cut in half by recliners & convertable couch-beds. I found out the hard way that they can knock over just about anything you lean up agains the wall - onto themselves of course. Even though my fuzzies hate baths they have an affinity for water. They can pull themselves up & into the toilet - if undiscovered they usually don't drown but succumb to the cold. I can't even wash the floor if they're out because they'll end up in the bucket. I've never had a problem w/cords, but that doesn't mean that you won't. I did have one big old Elmie who loved to stretch-n-chase the telephone receiver cord. The best advice I can give you about protecting your baby is to supervise to make sure he/she's safe, & confine when you can't be there. I have no concerns about caging when I'm not there to watch them, since when they got tired they would go to bed in their cage, all by themselves. [Moderator's note: remainder of post deleted since it appeared in issue 1841. BIG] Juliana Frodo, Rocks, Anola Gay, SNAFU, FUBAR, Tabu, Chaos & Tuxedo [Posted in FML issue 1846]