Grace,
 
Impulse smelled so awful because he was whole not because he was not
descented. Whole males have a very oily skin which gives them an
orange tint and leaves your hands feeling tacky whenever you hold
one. They also tend to "dribble" urine all over you and the house.
Most people only keep males whole if they plan on breeding them.
I've found if you can handle the odor that whole males are usually
very sweet and lovable with people. Unfortunately they don't get
along with other males when they're in season and have a tendency to
want to drag off the females for amourous purposes.(G) If Impulse
had been neutered and not descented you would have noticed the same
difference. As for spraying, again that's a "whole male thing". I
don't know why but they spray for no appearent reason. A neutered
ferret will only spray when frightened or defending itself or if
there is a medical problem like infected anal sacs. I have several
ferrets that have been neutered but not descented and they have very
little odor. But a whole male can be a real stinker!(G)
 
Cindy
 
[Posted in FML issue 0576]