My husband's first ferret, "Stinky" Slinky (an un-neutered,
un-descented male), ran loose outside regularly. At the time, he
lived on a 20-acre property. Slinky had a cage that was his "home"
with an outside porch area, but he also got to run free outside.

My husband would take Slinky outside, sit down, and just let the ferret
go. There were "farm" (semi-wild) cats and skunks on the property.
Slinky loved the cats, he would run to them and want to play. The cats,
for their part, just thought he was crazy, and would run away. There
was a female skunk who tried to get into Slinky's porch, probably
liking his smell. :)

But as for the outside running time, Slinky would never wander too
far, maybe 10 feet or so. He'd run off, look over his shoulder at Jim,
then run back as fast as he could. Slinky never wandered off and
disappeared.

Just thought I'd share personal experiences with ferrets running around
outside and not running off.

Debbie

[Posted in FML 5765]