Thank you, Eliot, for being so sweet. I always worry that no one particularly cares about I just realized today that Dervish is bigger than she used to be. My roommate commented on it last week, but I hadn't noticed yet. I figured out that this second box of food is going a lot faster than the first one did...and Dervish can no longer slither under the door too my bedroom, she's too big! :-) By no stretch of the imagination is she a big ferret (and I doubt she will be when she's fully grown), but it's funny to see her try to get under the door then back up. :-) I finally managed to barricade the couch so she can't go spelunking in there. I've got t-shirts duct-taped in the spaces she uses to get it. I watched her try for 15 mintues to get them out, to no avail. It is now officially, completely safe for her to be loose in the apartment. I went into Emily's room and secretly ferret-proofed it (it was easier than training Emma to close her door). Derv's cage has a wire bottom (which I've covered) and then a sliding metal tray underneath. If I've been gone for most of the day and the litter box (and surrounding cage space :-) is filled with the days' efforts, sometimes there's a bit of an odor; the litter she prefers doesn't control smell too well. (I keep the room warm, so that might aggravate the problem). Anyway, I filled the sliding tray full of baking soda, and I haven't had an odor problem yet! I'm so amazed at my brillance (yeah, right :-). I'm working on a ferret-song to the tune of "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls. ("If you wannabe my ferret, you gotta steal all my socks...confiscate my raisins and sleep inside a shoe box...") Don't ask me where I get my inspiration, I'm not sure I know. -(TX) Meghan and Dervish ("couldn't you do 'The Ferret of the Opera' instead?") p.s. She's asleep on my lap. Are all ferrets this cute when they yawn? [Posted in FML issue 2483]