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Ever had a ferret?

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I've wanted one for 15 years at least. The Wife always pushed back on it. Well with the power of Myself and the kids (mostly my 5 year old texting her the word Ferret over and over for days) we got one today. We saw this one two weeks ago and she was super friendly and playful. After they gave her a bath at the store she climbed into my jacket and stayed in my sleeve the whole way home. The Ferret gets along with the dog quite well but I figure the cat will be his moody self around it.

I'm considering getting a leash and harness for her so I can take her out. She is very squirmy and weasely so I wouldn't mind having a leash for the house for a bit until she gets used to the place.

what's your experiences with ferrets? I don't think I'm going to regret this but I already have 4 other animals so a bit of work is already happening anyways.

also pics for fun


 
I never had a ferret myself, but I love them, they're so cute.

Last year, I had an encounter with a ferret. It was running around our neighborhood, and it came right up to our house looking for love and attention. Rolled over so I would rub it's belly. Poor thing either was thrown out, or had gotten lost. Took it to the humane society, and i'm hoping it found a new home. We couldn't take care of it sadly because my cat would freak out.
 
Spring of Life said:
I never had a ferret myself, but I love them, they're so cute.

Last year, I had an encounter with a ferret. It was running around our neighborhood, and it came right up to our house looking for love and attention. Rolled over so I would rub it's belly. Poor thing either was thrown out, or had gotten lost. Took it to the humane society, and i'm hoping it found a new home. We couldn't take care of it sadly because my cat would freak out.
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Yup. Sounds like a ferret. It's crazy how quickly they open up. I've seen a good amount over the years and I've only seen one that was mean.

My cat is a typical cat. He wants what he wants when he wants. He came out to check out what was going on. Him and the dog were both checking the ferret out together. The cat didn't hiss and just went back to his spot.
 
Damage Inc said:
Yup. Sounds like a ferret. It's crazy how quickly they open up. I've seen a good amount over the years and I've only seen one that was mean.

My cat is a typical cat. He wants what he wants when he wants. He came out to check out what was going on. Him and the dog were both checking the ferret out together. The cat didn't hiss and just went back to his spot.
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Is your cat male or female? My parents got a pup recently, because their dog of 16 years passed away a few months ago, but they were miserable without a dog. My cat is a female, and she is noooot happy about he pup still, and we've had her for weeks now. I think it's a female thing, because I think they're more territorial.
 
They stink. You can get the scent glands removed but I'm not sure if that even helps. Your wife had good reason not to want one but what's done is done.

they will also murder birds or animals smaller than them. Don't let them around a parrot (unless you're a fan of decapitation).
 
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Spring of Life said:
Is your cat male or female? My parents got a pup recently, because their dog of 16 years passed away a few months ago, but they were miserable without a dog. My cat is a female, and she is noooot happy about he pup still, and we've had her for weeks now. I think it's a female thing, because I think they're more territorial.
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My cat is a male and my dog is a female. My cat has been through a few dogs. He got along with them all over time. It's the same cycle. First he avoids and hisses, then the hissing stops and he will be in the general area as the dog but still avoid. Then they will be able to touch without melting down. Now he is at the point where they can be right next to each other looking out the window. Quick movements by the dog still will freak the cat out but he's ok now.

I would say as long as the cat isn't attacking it would generally get better. All my dogs chased the cat for the first week and then that stopped. If you can get past that point I'm sure it will get better over time.
 
I always wanted one but changed my mind afterone of those furry fuckers bite my finger way to hard and won't go near them anymore.......... Maybe I'll man up one day because I still want one.
 
haxan7 said:
They stink. You can get the scent glands removed but I'm not sure if that even helps. Your wife had good reason not to want one but what's done is done.
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Yeah they are a little musty. From what I've read the males are really bad. She was in my jacket most of the day and I couldn't smell anything. They said she was spayed and descented. The smell is the only concern any of us had. Guess we will see


Lord Oso said:
I always wanted one but changed my mind afterone of those furry fuckers bite my finger way to hard and won't go near them anymore.......... Maybe I'll man up one day because I still want one.
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Their bite is supposedly really strong for their size. Would hate to find out what it feels like.
 
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Damage Inc said:
Yeah they are a little musty. From what I've read the males are really bad. She was in my jacket most of the day and I couldn't smell anything. They said she was spayed and descented. The smell is the only concern any of us had. Guess we will see
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The one I know is a male so what I wrote is based on that.

he also loves trying to escape and die. He's just agile and fast enough to pose a challenge keeping him inside. He escaped a few times and survived. Their brains are small and dumb but they're quick as hell. I've never known an animal with a bigger death wish than this ferret.
 
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Stouffers said:
We had two when I was younger. They were great but man do they poop a lot.
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Yeah she's pooped like 3 times already. My spirit animal if you know my background ;).

She's litter trained but we changed the litter from what she was used to and she decided it was digging time. Got to find something for her to dig in.
 
haxan7 said:
The one I know is a male so what I wrote is based on that.

he also loves trying to escape and die. He's just agile and fast enough to pose a challenge keeping him inside. He escaped a few times and survived. Their brains are small and dumb but they're quick as hell. I've never known an animal with a bigger death wish than this ferret.
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The scientific name for ferrets is Mustella putorius furo, which basically translates to "stinky weasel thief."

I chuckled reading that.

yeah she is really fast and can squeeze through cracks quick. When she was in my jacket I was squeezing my arms to my side to keep her in the front but no matter what she would slip through somewhere and be on my back. I'm going to keep her in the cage unless she's in a room where I can let her roam. Last thing I need is to feed the gators around here.
 
Damage Inc said:
The scientific name for ferrets is Mustella putorius furo, which basically translates to "stinky weasel thief."

I chuckled reading that.

yeah she is really fast and can squeeze through cracks quick. When she was in my jacket I was squeezing my arms to my side to keep her in the front but no matter what she would slip through somewhere and be on my back. I'm going to keep her in the cage unless she's in a room where I can let her roam. Last thing I need is to feed the gators around here.
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The one I know is smart enough to know when someone is going outside, and darts for the door at the first sign. He also gets under your feet so you have to somehow keep him from going outside without stepping on him. It takes vigilance from everyone in the house to keep him from escaping.

they also love going in shoes and chew them up, so you can't leave any shoes within reach. Putting them in a closet works but forget about leaving your shoes by the door unless you want poopy chewed up shoes.
 
haxan7 said:
The one I know is smart enough to know when someone is going outside, and darts for the door at the first sign. He also gets under your feet so you have to somehow keep him from going outside without stepping on him. It takes vigilance from everyone in the house to keep him from escaping.

they also love going in shoes and chew them up, so you can't leave any shoes within reach. Putting them in a closet works but forget about leaving your shoes by the door unless you want poopy chewed up shoes.
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Is that Ferret always free around the house? I don't think I could do that, sounds like a nightmare.
 
My parents had some when I was growing up, I think I was 8 at the time my mom was jingle keys in front of him playing with him, my mom gave me the keys so I ran to the kitchen with it chasing me, sat in the middle of the floor as he anxiously circled around me looking for the keys. I was pretty excited and called out to my mom "look mom hes playing with me" as if he was in slow motion he lunged at me, clinching on to the middle of my forhead, I was literally running around screaming with this ferret attached to my head.
I'll just say I dont prefer them.
 
Damage Inc said:
Is that Ferret always free around the house? I don't think I could do that, sounds like a nightmare.
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The ferret is usually free when I go there, which is a few times a week. It has a cage but I've only seen him in it a few times. I think it mostly runs free around the apartment. The whole place stinks of ferret.
 
ParanoidAndroidz said:
My parents had some when I was growing up, I think I was 8 at the time my mom was jingle keys in front of him playing with him, my mom gave me the keys so I ran to the kitchen with it chasing me, sat in the middle of the floor as he anxiously circled around me looking for the keys. I was pretty excited and called out to my mom "look mom hes playing with me" as if he was in slow motion he lunged at me, clinching on to the middle of my forhead, I was literally running around screaming with this ferret attached to my head.
I'll just say I dont prefer them.
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Damnnnn.
 
haxan7 said:
The ferret is usually free when I go there, which is a few times a week. It has a cage but I've only seen him in it a few times. I think it mostly runs free around the apartment. The whole place stinks of ferret.
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I couldn't do that. mines gonna be in the cage sleeping almost all day and I'll take her out to play and put her right back.
 
Damage Inc said:
I couldn't do that. mines gonna be in the cage sleeping almost all day and I'll take her out to play and put her right back.
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Sounds like the right way to cohabit with a ferret. I'd just warn that they are really playful with cats and dogs so you might need to be stern about keeping her in the cage.
 
haxan7 said:
Sounds like the right way to cohabit with a ferret. I'd just warn that they are really playful with cats and dogs so you might need to be stern about keeping her in the cage.
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Had her out this morning. House was so cold over night so had to warm her up. She was getting playful on the couch and we were shocking her when we touched her and it was freaking her out. Put her back in the cage and she ran right to the litter box to poop. Better there than the couch.
 
haxan7 said:
Sounds like the right way to cohabit with a ferret. I'd just warn that they are really playful with cats and dogs so you might need to be stern about keeping her in the cage.
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So far so good. Had an hour of playtime. We shut the doors in the master bath and let her run. Within one minute she found a hole under the cabinet that is a blank space between the wall and disappeared. She came back a minute later. That one puckered me up and would have been terrible to get her out. Play time was crazy with her bouncing around chasing a baseball and other little toys my daughter brought in. She would disappear into a towel pile my daughter created.

Only little play nibbles and I would scruff her after. It was actually quite hard to catch her to scruff her. Eventually she wore down and jumped in my lap and was ready for bed.

the other good news is her smell is barely noticeable. I stopped by to get something from the store we bought her and took the male out. That sucker smelled so bad. Glad we went with the female.
 
Damage Inc said:
the other good news is her smell is barely noticeable. I stopped by to get something from the store we bought her and took the male out. That sucker smelled so bad. Glad we went with the female.
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The whole apartment where the ferret I know lives stinks of ferret and ferret shit. He's fun to play with tho.
 
haxan7 said:
The whole apartment where the ferret I know lives stinks of ferret and ferret shit. He's fun to play with tho.
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Yeah. Couldn't do that smell. I'm actually quite surprised at how fun they are to get going. She's right up there with the dog. The cat barely plays with anything.
 
Ferrets are the kind of animals I'd love to play with if one of my friends owned them as a pet, I wouldn't want one myself. I know how strong their bite can be and I also have many loose cables around the house. At least my dog is easy to track and predictable. ;)
 
OP wants to copy the Nintendo Advert in secret.


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Yeah I had one when I was a kid. It got cancer and had to be put down.

Albino dude that was pretty friendly and playful. They're like forever kittens.
 
Slinkies with fur

I had 2 (Rocky and Malcom) when I was in middle school. My older brother worked at a pet store and had 7 of his own, when he adopted them out we took one more (Bear). All males, it stunk to high heaven, but playtime was hilarious. Having 3 high energy, mammal springs popping about was very entertaining

I loved having them then, they're wicked playful, Rocky would jump through the paper towel roll, then steal and hide them at clean up time. It's worth the experience to see if they're for you, I learned I love them, but I'd rather not do it again.
 
Day 3 has been good so far. She was up and down in her cage rotating between sleeping and eating. I took a good whiff and buried my nose into her coat and didn't smell anything. Seems that surgery does help. She got to meet the dog outside of the cage. That went very well. Dog took 3 bites to the face and didn't do anything.

So far not regretting the decision. Matter of fact my wife is now very comfortable with her and even is picking her up without freaking out. She just showed me a pic of a hedgehog For the next animal. Gonna have to slow her roll


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I have 8 ferrets. It sounds like you got yours from a pet store in the USA. If so it is fixed and descented. All that descenting does is remove their ability to puff like a skunk. It also means that it came from a horrible pet mill called Marshal Farms and will have health issues down the line. Ferrets are also best kept in groups, they are not solo animals.
 
Got a Ferret when I was 15, brought it home for about 2 hours until my mother got home from work and that was that, She nearly killed herself trying to get away from it and yelling at me to get it out of the house. Now I'ts been 27 years since then and she still freaks out whenever I mention it and I do often cause I laugh hysterically at that memory every time.
 
My wife now wants a second one after a few nights. She went from freaking out to holding her and playing. She feels bad having just one when she was used to having a playmate.
 
Damage Inc said:
My wife now wants a second one after a few nights. She went from freaking out to holding her and playing. She feels bad having just one when she was used to having a playmate.
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Good, one of the first things people should learn about ferrets is that they belong in groups of 3 or more.
 
Yamisan said:
Good, one of the first things people should learn about ferrets is that they belong in groups of 3 or more.
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Its nice that they sleep so much. Works with the schedules. Two may be as many as we can handle since we have 4 other animals but she was used to being with another one. I may just go grab that one she was with even if it was from a shady breeder. Someone has to take it.
 
Damage Inc said:
Its nice that they sleep so much. Works with the schedules. Two may be as many as we can handle since we have 4 other animals but she was used to being with another one. I may just go grab that one she was with even if it was from a shady breeder. Someone has to take it.
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Its rather hard to find ferrets in the US that aren't from there so go get it.
 
Yamisan said:
Its rather hard to find ferrets in the US that aren't from there so go get it.
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The sable ferret was really mellow when I picked her up. She laid on my chest all sad looking. Once she saw the other ferret they both lit up.

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