I truly believe that all ferrets have it within themselves the desire to be good little ferrets and use the litter box. But I think that the desire to go in very specific spots sometimes outweighs that initial good desire. At one time, I kept my ferrets in a cage, a large one when I had 4, but eventually moved them to a room of their own. I found that they were excellent in using the litter box inside the cage but once they had expanded their territory, they miss rate began to steadily appear. What I did find interesting was that our first ferret was terrible at using the litter box. Once we added a buddy for him, his rate of going in the right spot was dramatically improved. It was if the new one had showed our first one what to do. Eventually all of our ferrets got full range of the house at all times. Litter boxes were everywhere and poop was not always in them... more like around them and everywhere else. It became a chore to keep up to it all and it was exhausting. We decided overall, the best way to beat a ferret is to join him. (Oh, that sounds awful!) It meant that we took into consideration where they seemed to go the most and moved a litter box to that spot. In cases where I thought their chosen spot was not a popular one, I would put a blanket down and that unto itself would clear up the matter. Now, this part may be the hardest part to follow and that is, sometimes it is better to leave poop in an area for awhile. In cleaning up a favourite spot, you may be taking away the very area they need to mark. I found that once I determined the choice spots for them, determining where to put a litter pan and newspapers, and where to put blankets became easy. I use to have as many as 9 litter pans in the house but now I am down to 4. And the clean up is actually next to nothing. The trick is to keep on top of the spots that are iffy - ones they don't always go in, and to let the poop sit a little longer in the areas that they do - this indicates to them that this is a good spot and they will continue to go there. We had one trouble spot in our newly tiled living room. They continually went in front of the stereo. I moved one litter pan from one area and put it there and voila! no more misses! Understanding the need to mark a particular spot is so very important. Not cleaning up in some areas is important too. Laying down newspapers in spots where a litter box won't fit works wonders. And being persistent and consistent is the final ingredient to success. But experiment with placement and go with the flow. Your ferrets will let you know where THEY want to go. If may not always agree with the decor, but work with it and don't fight it. You will be much happier for it. And believe me, I know. Good luck and happy gold digging. Betty and Her Blur O'Fur [Posted in FML issue 2805]