I just read the previous thread titled FERRETS, and was appalled at some of the things said by certain users; that having a ferret is like having a rotten puppy, and how they only live as long as it takes for you not to want to kill them. I guess i can understand this from the point of view of someone who doesn't want a ferret, but look at it from other's angles too. Ferrets are cute and lovable, and can bring lots of joy into people's lives. Yes, they take a lot of training, but so do other animals that you would let run around your house. Once trained and integrated into your home, they can be wonderful pets providing their owners with hours of laughs and entertainment. The only times that they can really get finicky is when they are neglected, or left in their cages for long periods of time. When they start chewing on the bars of their cages and whining, usually means that they are bored and need entertainment. think of it this way. Would you leave a small child in a crib all day without taking it out to play, feed it, or console it? ferrets need the same kind of attention. I'm sorry, i didn't mean to go off on a wild tangent, but from reading the posting before this one, and some of the horrible things said by some of the replies, i felt i had to rectify the viewpoint of having ferrets for all who were interested. just to recap: yes, they are a lot of work, and anyone who owns one should own one because they WANT to, not because they feel they HAVE to. i've said my piece. thanks to all who took time out to read it.

I've never owned a ferret, but I appreciate your input. I DO know they take a lot of work because they are intelligent, inquisitive and easily bored. I imagine what you are willing to put into the relationship is what you are going to get out of it.

Ferrets are illegal to own in California.

However personal tastes are being expressed.

Personally I like Puppy served with a nice kidney bean salad and a burgendy wine.



THAT WAS JUST A JOKE!

quote:

Originally posted by DvdGStwrt:
Ferrets are illegal to own in California.

Why?

Why, Sarai? Obviously I can't give the answer under law, but I can see good reason.

My own view is that anyone who keeps a ferret in a normal home is severely misguided (sorry American home ferret keepers ! ) I am a countryman,live in the country,and have a farm nearby (and was brought up on it). Nobody but nobody in that village or on the farm would ever keep a ferret inside. Ferrets are a) for outside and b) for killing rabbits. They are neither adapted nor suited for being kept as pets. No boy or girl in the countryside around here, nor, I venture to think anywhere in the rural UK or France,would ever keep one simply as a pet. They tend to be smelly (the ferrets that is; the country boys maybe, the girls not ). They bite (ferrets,that is; girls maybe). They are born to kill (all three) and will do so with enthusiasm (ditto). They are all active and require activity.

Boys and sometimes girls, the children of farmworkers, keep ferrets in hutches outside , in the farmyard or at the far end bottom of their cottage garden (cottage gardens are long).They take them out to go hunting for rabbits. The animal, being small, is suited for a boy or girl to keep and quite amusing but they are kept for a purpose. The children compete sometimes to see whose ferretting skills are the greatest, seeing how many rabbits they can catch. This is a useful skill. Ferrets when not used simply to kill rabbits are also used to flush out rabbits for the guns of the men.

I must have a look around to see whether there are urban ferret keepers in the UK or France. I've certainly never heard of one; we'd doubt their sanity (so therefore it must be an American thing ). Seriously, I can see that some wild animals can be domesticated, the ferret being a farmyard version of an animal found in the wild, and that certain characteristics may be reduced by selective breeding so that the result is more tractable. Even so, it seems to me (and maybe to the Californian lawmakers) that the fundamental characteristics that make the ferret unsuited for domestic life are so deep that this is not going to ever happen. The result will be a lot of unhappiness for the ferret so kept, and quite likely for the owners.

Checking around I find that some ferrets must be being kept as pets in the UK.

Now the 'official' caution: The RSPCA , the charity that investigates cases and enforces laws on cruelty to animals, and generally advises on pet welfare, acknowledges that ferrets are offered and kept as pets. However the advice they give should discourage people. You have to have more than one. The animals must be handled constantly; if not they'll revert to a wilder state. They'll bite. They do have a smell. ( Smell? Why should a domesticated polecat smell ? ) You should never breed from them, and so on.

The Humane Society of the US, is if anything, even less friendly. The HSUS " statement on ferrets as pets" says that the animals should not be bred commercially nor sold in pet stores. The USUS acknowledges that is legal to keep ferrets as pets in some states. It does not like the words 'unusual pet' when 'unusual' is used without explanation in statements by vendors or fanciers. Read on and you see why. The animals should not be bred from at home. They bite. They are good at escaping. The home ought to be ferret- proofed. No child should ever be left unsupervised with a ferret ( what other 'pet' would you ever say that of? ) and so on.

A friend kept two ferrets for awhile and I did not understand at all. They smelled bad even though she assured me that they didn't. It was pretty funny to be standing in her house and have her tell me that they don't smell when the pungent aroma was all around me. I guess what she really meant was that after awhile you begin to not notice the smell anymore.

They also did fun things like bite feet of strangers (me) and burrow into cabinets and walls when she wasn't looking. One managed to get stuck behind the stove and she had to hire a guy to come and get it out. They also seem to like to eat things that they shouldn't eat... which is how they both ended up dieing. She was not negligent, I think they are just too much to keep indoors safely.

Lovely pets... really.

(she has a cat now and all is well)

must i reiterate???ferrets are for people who have the time, want, and love to give to them. negligent owners or people who have ferrets forced upon them, are the ones who are constantly saying that they make horrible pets.