I am considering having a ferret (or 2).  Assuming the landlord approves (or
doesn't find out), is there much of a problem with having ferrets in
apartments?
 
[Nope.  They're perfect apartment pets, no noise, little smell, and can be
kept caged for most of the day.  The most important thing is to ensure
that you've ferret-proofed the apartment so that they don't get inside
your refrigerator or out thru drainpipe holes etc.  Go out and buy one
of the books I've mentioned in the previous item!]
 
              I don't anticipate being able to move into a house for 2 or 3
more years unless I happen to find a good one for rent (the few houses around
here for rent are firetraps or cesspools).  How often would a ferret need to
be outside?
 
[Never.  One of ours gets extremely nervous out of doors and begs to be
taken back in.  Just make sure that they get a couple of hours of running
around in your apartment per day.  Very entertaining for you and a lot
less risky for them.]
 
               Can they be bathed in an indoor bathtub?  Is one gender better
than another for an apartment situation?
 
[A kitchen sink should be more than adequate for a female.  Males need
laundry tubs.  Hold them under a gentle stream of water and scrub with a
pet or baby shampoo.  They won't be particularly thrilled, but they'll
tolerate it (eventually.. ;-)
 
Females are smaller, less rambunctious and easier to house/handle.
Males are double the size, bounce off walls a lot (Toby was a SPUK
(self-propelled unguided klutz)), and (admittedly from a small sample)
more actively friendly.]
 
If you want to e-mail direct:
   UUCP:  uiucuxc!phil@uxh
   Internet: [log in to unmask]
   Bitnet: phil@uiucvmd
 
Thanks, --Phil Howard--
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0044]