Awhile ago I posted about Rocky catching a mouse in the bathtub but when
one was in my bedroom it dashed past him, while he was still sniffing
where it had been.  I noticed a funny thing today.  I put the mouse trap
back in the bathroom and Rocky sniffed the trap and then immediately
jumped into the bathtub looking for the mouse!
 
He does have the predator instinct, and he can be extremely fast.  He
once jumped up and caught a fly in flight, and he moved very quickly when
he noticed the mouse in the bathtub, and also when he goes after those
palmetto bugs and immediately eats them, which takes care of one problem
for me LOL.  So it's not his ability to move quickly enough to catch the
mice on the floor.
 
I have noticed that he has a hard time even finding a treat on the floor
if I don't put it down right in front of him.  I was wondering if it was
his vision or sense of smell.  His hearing is very accute; that I know
for sure.  It's probably the main reason he doesn't like going outside.
 
So I did an experiment with Purina Kitten Chow, which he loves and I give
him as a treat.  I tossed the treat on the floor in different lighting
conditions and also where there was more contrast.  The kitten chow and
TF treats blend in with the old wood floors, so also I tried the bathroom
also, where there is white tile.  He would watch me toss the treat, hear
it hit the floor and start trying to find it, but often went in the wrong
direction and sometimes even when it was a couple of inches away from him
he couldn't find it even though he was sniffing all over the place.  He'd
look up at me if I'd point in the direction and say, "Go get your treat
Rocky" and he'd go in the direction I pointed and find it.  So I figured
out it is not his vision, which I suspected it probably wasn't since
ferrets don't rely on vision to hunt like cats.  Also, he is a very good
judge of distance on whether or not to jump from my desk chair to my
dresser, depending on how far away the chair is.
 
I concluded, it must be his sense of smell that is hampering his hunting
ability--for creatures as well as treats!  I've also noticed that often
if I offer him some food--chicken, kibble, or whatever--he'll sniff it
and won't want it but if I push it to his mouth enough so that he can
taste it he will not only eat it but want more.  If he really doesn't
like it or it's his kibble and he's not hungry, he will spit it out.
The only exception is fruit--of course!--which he can smell from another
room.  But fruit has a much stronger smell than meat or kibble.
 
Does anyone know anything about this?  Is Rocky's sense of smell
particularly bad for domestic ferrets?  Since their hearing seems to
vary, I imagine sense of smell does too, just as it does in humans.
 
Shron & Rocky--poor little disabled predator
 
BTW, he is eating some kibble again, but still prefers chicken, chicken
gravy, egg yolk, freeze dried liver.  I resigned myself to leaving his
bowl out all the time in the bathtub despite the mouse problem.  Also I
mixed in a sample of Path Valley poultry and rice pellets (which he also
wouldn't take initially until I forced him to taste it and he liked it.)
To reassure some of those who replied, I am sure he is not sick and his
teeth are fine.
[Posted in FML issue 4748]