Hi!  My name is Kaiti and I am a prespective ferret owner (actually, i'm
ready and willing but I have to convince my parents first = )  I have been
doing as much research as I can about ferrets, through FAQs, documentaries
and such but my parents want answers from actual people.  I have a few
questions about these lovable little critters.
 
First of all, if someone is allergic to cats, will they be allergic to
ferrets?  I haven't really found anything about that on the web, except
something like, 'each individual animal is different and you would have to
find out'.  not much help there.  This question is almost the clincher to
whether or not i can have one as my dad is allergic to cats.
 
Also, how well do they get along with dogs?  I have a 10 year old poodle
who is reasonably gentle with my rodent pets (guinea pigs, rabbits) so i'm
not worried about her hurting the ferret but rather the other way around.
she is kind of excitable when things move quickly, at least when other dogs
do, but she is easily restrainable.  She has this habit of trying to 'beep'
things smaller than her.  she will poke them with her nose, not really
hard, and not visciously but playfully.  we think she is just trying to
get them to move, or squeak because she does the same thing to her squeaky
toys.  would this behaviour be a problem?  I'd like my dog and the ferret
to get along but i can always put her somewhere else while my ferret was
playing if it would be a problem.
 
Cage size.  I am away at school all day (8:30-3:30) so my ferret would
have to be in his cage all day.  I'd like to give him the best possible
accomodations and I've read that the sizes for cages under these
circumstances should be 2'hx2'dx3'l, which to me seems kind of small for
such an active animal.  Are these sizes appropriate?
 
And finally, does any one know of a breeder or is a breeder in the greater
Toronto area?  I do have a reliable petstore I could buy a ferret from but
i would like to buy my ferret from a breeder where I know that they have
had lots of love and care, also so I can maybe get any idea of their
personalities before I decide on one.
 
Thank you very much for any help you can give.
 
Kaiti
[Posted in FML issue 3074]