The active ingredient in hairball remedies is petrolatum..........
vaseline.  You can mix a teaspoon of vaseline with ferretone (yummm!)
and your ferret hopefully will take to that.  If not right away, then
offer a teaspoon of vaseline in the cup of our hand with a few drops of
ferretone dripped right on top of it to get them started.  As with any
new food/treat, you may have to put a little in their mouth (just behind
the canines - the long teeth) for them to taste it.  Most ferrets
actually like it, even if it sounds unappetizing to us.  I have found
that my ferrets like the vaseline/ferretone mixture better than hairball
remedy anyway and they don't get all that sugar that they don't need
along with it!
 
HOWEVER, if your ferret already has symptoms of a blockage, you need
to bypass this treatment and take the ferret to the vet immediately.
Intestinal blockages are an emergency and can kill a ferret really
quickly.  By the time there is a blockage it is usually too late for
a hairball remedy to be effective.
 
jacquie rodgers, kylie & gilbert
[Posted in FML issue 4594]