Greetings to All,

Someone wrote a few days ago, in perhaps a little anger and
frustration, that people return pets because the house can be their
urinal, and they destroy carpeting. This did not seem to be a good
enough reason to want to give" it" to a shelter.

I wish that people at pet stores and shelters would always be frank
with people about how some ferrets poop in the middle of the floor and
in corners, or next to the litter box,or under the bed, or inside the
couch...after they rip the underside and use the interior as a place to
sleep and excrete. I wish everyone would be honest about how they tend
to tear up the carpeting in front of that closed door, and then lay on
their backs and claw mark the door.

People living in apartments need to know what they are getting into
so that the landlord does not see the damage and tell the tenant to
get the animal out. I wish it was made clear that rocking chairs,
recliners, and the like can crush a ferret The poor thing can get
trapped in the sofa and sat upon.

And do we all say a litter box should be available in every room the
ferret is allowed in? That they require exotic vets that may not exist
anywhere near the owners home? That they tend to get cancers very early
on in their short lives, and that meds could easily cost $70 a month?

I am going in for major surgery very soon, and will most likely be
unable to write for at least 5 months. But I wanted to leave all of you
with these truths I have written. No one told me any of this at any pet
store or shelter where I have adopted, purchased, or rescued ferrets.

My new bath room cabinet facing was ruined within a few months. I have
had to have 6 different screens placed on the door. I had a white
carpet from my mother I placed in the middle of the room. My ferrets
deficated all over it in no time. My home had brand new carpet when I
moved in. They had stained it badly by the time I was fully moved
in..about 2 weeks.

I love these small animals with such large personality. I have been on
this list for years. I even wrote a funny poem about the white carpet
and put it on the FML.

Each ferret has been so different. Some always make the box. Others
poop piles on the cage ramps, or like Bisquit.. leave a lake in the
middle of a room.

I tell everyone the truth of my experiences. Toddlers can't be falling
into poop, or putting it in their mouths. These exotic creatures do not
make good pet when mom never wanted it in the first place, but the kids
talked her into it.

I think I have talked hundreds of people out of getting one of these
tiny ones just by speaking of my experiences. But I wish that the
places I found ferrets would have just once told me of possible
problems. That would indicated that they also warned others.

I realize that I have not heard of the concerns for other small
animals, let alone dogs when I have gone to the pet stores over the
years. But I would like to suggest that we all be honest about the
little ones that we love so much.

Maybe you could share some of the damage your tiny ones caused. Wolfy
is working on an article concerning the poop these guys drop on floors.
I have a sense of humor about it. But many moms may just be disgusted
and shocked, and totally unwilling to scrub up all the excretions for
years to come.

I lost a brand new $3000 couch with my first ferret. She destroyed it.
Many people cannot afford that much for a couch. Nor do they want to
replace it with a futon, which is what I chose to do.

What do YOU tell people?

I will be able to read. But I don't think I will be typing again any
time soon. So kiss the stinker-butts for me, please.

Lisette

[Posted in FML 6939]