kiri smith

by kiri smith
(hereford, england uk)

smoky and bandit

So I decided as we weren’t allowed a cat or dog, 2 cute little fuzzies might be right for us. Well, did I wish I would have come to a site like this first!

I don’t regret my decision but I do wish we had hard flooring throughout!!! I set about finding a rescue agency for my soon to be ferret babies and found Capricorn Animal Rescue 2 and a half hours away from us in Wales.

The next day off we went to hopefully find the 2 fuzzies whose pic I had fell in love with on the site’s main page – a beautiful polecat coloured and a beautiful coloured one who looked to be blonde and had a white albino patch on the back of its neck!

When we got there the guy said to us we have 2 boys whose history is unknown but they have been here most of their lives. The one came in with his brother but a year or so ago his brother was adopted and he wasn’t. Of course when he said that my heart melted and, of course, without even seeing them, I knew it would be them! I didn’t care so much about looks, I just wanted good personalities as I had been warned that ferrets are bitey and can be aggressive – what a load of ferret poo!

He unlocked the door and brought the 2 boys out and put them in a summer house for us to see them and decide whether we were happy with them. My partner only had to look and he could tell I was in love – they just so happened to be the 2 boys on the site’s main page, the ones I had hoped would be here!!!

Needless to say we signed the paper work for them, they came already neutered and were microchipped there and then for us. Basil was the polecat coloured one, now called Bandit, who was 2 and a bit years old; and Ifan was the coloured (blonde one with the albino patch), now called Smoky, who was 1 and a half.

I was from that moment on mother of 2 gorgeous fur kids – I couldn’t have been any happier if I’d had kids myself! we have currently had them 4 months and for the first week of bringing them home they were perfect. Now tho’ they dig up carpet, they play nip, they are into everything, especially if they know it’s off limits and believe me that doesn’t stop at washing and drying machines. They never use their litter box, they prefer any possible corner so there’s now puppy training pads every where!!!

My advice to people is that ferrets are only aggressive if you make them that way. Our 2 are rescue boys and they are so friendly so please don’t think rescue pets are in anyway less of a pet or naturally aggressive – they just aren’t! Mine only play nip and that is a ferret trait. They love to get teeth and claws involved in play but they don’t usually bite hard so it’s only a gentle excited nip. They are escape artists – be ready to check any machine before using it, even freezers!

Litter boxes don’t hold much interest, they prefer somewhere they are supposed to relieve themselves instead of a fresh clean box. Carpet is a no no with these creatures, they will just dig it up and make a mess, and as for food and chemicals – that is off limits! If they can reach it, they will lick it!

Remember … if a ferret can reach it, sniff it, lick it, roll in it, it’s fair game! Also bath time is always a hard thing to achieve with my guys, although some like water (preferably dirty). You may struggle getting these guys into and keeping them in the bath!!!

Also I’m not sure if its true but I’ve always been told human milk is lethal to these fuzzies and they should only be given cat or kitten milk. Dog food (only biscuits) are for treats only as they have less meat and more veg content in them than cat food, houseplants can be poisonous – keep them out of reach. Veg and fruit are not a good idea as ferrets can’t break them down, shoes are perfect for fuzzies to get in and dig at and socks are a fun tear up toy!