Excerpts from mail: 2-Mar-93 Ferret List Issue 425 by Ferret Mailing List@ferr
> farm thing, let me clarify by saying that I was gifted with her by a friend
> who did not know better.  She knew I wanted a ferret and saw them advertised
> for $25.00 in a local paper...no shots,  no neutering, etc.  Since it was my
> first ferret, I didn't know better myself!  At least we both feel good
knowing
>
> that we saved her from certain death and horrid living conditions)
> Back to the subject, I wonder if there is anything I could do to make
Ayla mor
> e
> affectionate or dometic?  She is a tense ferret who is always on the
defensive
 
It sounds like she's a "fitch" or fur ferret. I'm not certain of their
genetic background (I'm sure other on this list are much more
knowledgable), but I think they may have been bred back with something
wilder. They don't conform to ferret standards 100%, in particular their
noses are usually more pointed. They are definitely more agressive and
bite more. If you get them as kits you can tame them some, but by 3
months you've missed out on a lot of that early socialization. I had a
ferret named Silver for a while that I believe was a fitch ferret. She
was absolutely gorgeous ... her fur was a silken silver. She was a bit
bigger than my females and most certainly more agressive. Her nose was
more pointed than mine and her face had a more rat-like look (I suspect
it looked more mink-like, but I've seen rats more than minks). She was
playful, but had to be kept in a separate cage because she'd bite the
other ferrets. She was cuddly and liked to groom you, but after about 10
licks, seemed overcome by the taste (have you seen that Sylvester the
puddy tat cartoon where he's kissing a mouse?) and *chomp*!! Eee-youch!
I was able to convince her that wasn't cool, but it only cut down (not
eliminated) the behavior and the only thing that worked was a REALLY
severe swat across the nose (severe enough to make her sneeze several
times). She would bite any fingers poked into her cage, whereas mine
will come over and look but not bite (never!). She made a decent pet for
an adult who was firm with her. She liked to crawl into your lap and
cuddle -- even more than my own ferrets -- but she was definitely more
agressive. She'd been spayed before we got her (but not descented).
 
Like I said, she was absolutely gorgeous. But she *bit*!
 
--Barb--
 
[Regarding "fitch".  The terminology is somewhat confusing.  I've
been assuming that a "fitch ferret", to the fur industry, is a polecat
(Mustela Putorius) instead of a domestic ferret (Mustela Putorius
Furo).  While the two do interbreed, there are physical and physiological
differences.  On the other hand, one book I read suggested that domestic
ferrets were used in North America for fur when alternatives were
scarce.]
 
[Posted in FML issue 0427]