Ferrets prefer to drink water in any manner other than the one you provide
for them.  If you use a water bottle, they will prefer to drink out of the
cat's water dish.  If you put it in a bowl for the little fuzzers, they try
to spill it on the floor and lap it up from there.  Water on feet or tub
after a shower is to die for.
 
Water in a cup left on a coffee table must be spilled and the water lapped
from the carpet before it sinks in.
 
You know your ferret is spoiled when:
Every morning before brushing your teeth, you hold a ferret in one hand, and
a small cup (from a toy set) of water in the other, and allow her to
daintily drink her fill before getting on with your morning ablutions.
 
Linda, Richard, Joy, Belle ("Hey, bring that cup back! I'm not done yet.")
  and  Caruso (the snorkler)
[Posted in FML issue 1356]