I have a situation brewing that the ferret owners that also have cats
could help me with. I have a six month old neutered male kitten that has
suddenly developed an irresistible urge to socialize with my two male
ferrets. Teakey is the kittens' name and I raised him from the time he
came into this world. His mother had him and then had a non-viable breech
birth. The mother died after a C-Section and so did the two other kittens
that she had. So Teakey has never known another cat or any other animal.
When he first saw the ferrets he shrieked with terror and refused to
go near them until he was about four months old. He began to peer at them
over the piece of plywood I kept in their doorway to keep them in their
basement home. I tried one day to introduce Teakey to the ferrets but
Teebone came up to him and chomped down on one of Teakey's paws and
that was the end of the social hour. Teebone did not hurt the kitten's
paw but I thought of it as a warning from Teebone that he didn't want
any part of the feline. Now Teakey is six months old and he will not
leave the ferrets alone. I found him one day crouched behind one of the
ferrets carpeted condominiums.The ferrets were asleep in another shelter
I made of cardboard boxes so they were unaware that he was there. I chased
him out but he continues to sneak down into their area when I am not looking.
I have to close the door to the basement to prevent Teakey from entering
but the ferrets get upset when I do this because they like to look out.
     My question is that what are the chances of Teakey hurting the ferrets?
Are cats usually aggressive towards ferrets as they are towards birds and
mice? I know ferrets are able to defend themselves quite well but Teakey
outweighs them by four lbs. Since Teakey has never been around other
animals he might just be curious, but the ferrets do not seem like they
are looking for an additional playmate. Should I just let them meet and
see what happens or keep them separate just to be on the safe side?
     I know each animal reacts differently but a few suggestions
could give me some ideas on how to handle this purr-ticular problem.
 
                                      Judy,Teebone & Weezul(the ferrets),
                                      Teakey(the cat who thinks he is human),
                                      and Mad Max(the cockatiel who thinks
                                      all of us are crazy).
 
[Posted in FML issue 0636]