>If your [sic] one of those... who allows your Ferret to run free while
>your [sic] gone and someday your Ferret comes up missing and ends up in
>the... hands of a preditor [sic].  You have only yourself to blame.
>-Rick
 
Either that, or you could blame the predator.
 
Seriously, though-- I love my ferrets, and it is because I love them that I
let them roam free.  When they want to wake up and stretch at 4am, wrestle
around in the boxes and dance on my alarm clock, they do.  And they do
often.  I'm sure that if they were caged they would lose the night ritual
altogether.  Remember, alot of animals will fall asleep when bored, just
like humans do.  A cage is a very boring place.  I'd sleep all day if I was
in a cage.
 
So how do you love your ferrets (contradictory to Rick's confident opinion
that you do not) AND give them the most amount of freedom, while still
protecting them?  Simple.  An investement in hardware.
 
Buy wire, *not nylon* screens for your windows.  Make sure you have all of
those holes in your wall covered up.  A cheap material called "hardware
cloth" is your best friend.  Found at almost every hardware store.  Keep
track of your ferrets when you leave.  Confine them to a room with all of
their things in it.  They feel safe (as in my bedroom, it has become their
"den"), and have everything they need-- water, food, space to breathe, you
know.  Keep the door closed when you are gone.
 
What does this do for your ferret?  Well, for one, it provides one of the
most humane forms of punishment, if you ask me.  No nose-flicking or
toe-pinching goes on in my house, no sir.  Rather, if one of them is a bit
heavy on the "I'm going to dig my way under this door" routine, I put them
in a cage I have in the room for a "time out."  It works quite well, as they
obviously DON'T WANT TO BE IN THE CAGE.  After given a taste of freedom, my
ferrets actually prefer to be out sleeping in their own spot, not where they
are restricted and seperated from the world.  I apologize if your ferrets
think differently than most mammals on the planet.  Secondly, it provides
safety from little squabbles.  Just a few days ago I had to punish a male
and female ferret of mine, for getting together in a teamwork tunneling
project into the carpet.  After a few minutes in the cage, I heard some loud
squeaking, and came back to see my female's ears swollen, red, and soaked.
The male had been viciously chewing on them (as some are prone to do) but
she could not get away.  I wondered why I had never seen this behavior
before.
 
Maybe it was because when the ferrets are outside of the cage, they are
less stressed and have a choice of moving away from one that is becoming
territorial.
 
If you say your cage is big, I dare you to compare the size ratio of
ferret-to-cage, and then compare that to a size ratio compatible with you
(i.e, your bedroom or kitchen maybe), put yourself in that room with some
water, and basic sustaining food (a loaf of bread) and only a few towels to
entertain yourself with.  Then try to stay there, lying down and not jumping
or climbing, for 8 or 9 hours.  Then imagine having the metabolism and
inquisitive nature of a ferret.
 
So let me ask Rick any any other FML readers who are rude enough to make
such an accusation on the level of who-loves-who just because of a cage
issue: Do you love your FERRETS, or do you love your ORNAMENTS?
 
Think about it.
 
Sincerely,
Mark A. Pendl
(semi-lurker)
 
p.s.-> and on the subject of ferrets listening to music, my ferrets listen
to National Public Radio all day.  I don't think it is increasing their
intelligence as I would have hoped, but they've got a social action group
going.  Something about "mustelid liberalism," I'm not sure. =)
[Posted in FML issue 2403]