Taking your ferret for a walk: Get one of those extendo leashes people use
for dogs. They cope with ferret brownian motion better than the little 4
foot leashes that come with a lot of harnesses.
Emergency info: This was on the list a year or so back. Take a few
minutes to write up a sheet of info about who lives in your house and how
they should be cared for if you are incapacitated. Stick it on your
refrigerator. Mine lists all the ferrets, when their shots are due, how
old they are, gives some general info about ferret care (e.g. what they
eat and how often) and phone numbers for someone who can assume financial
responsibility if need be, my vet, and a couple numbers of shelters and
other ferret-knowledgable places. We all hope nothing goes wrong, but
remember that the ferrets are your responsibility whether or not you're
there to be responsible.
Save water, shower with a ferret: One of my ferrets loves to lie draped
over my shoulder in the shower. Fortunately, he's the (rescued) one
that's declawed :-) Try it. I read on this list that ferrets like their
bathwater hotter than we do, so I make it as hot as I can stand and Smokey
seems to be in heaven.
Litter boxes won't stay put: Over the years, I have read about and tried
many ways to keep the ferrets from pushing their litter boxes around.
Here's a new one that worked well for us. Superpet makes "cage clips", 4
for $1.99 at the brand new PetSmart on the edge of town. They come with
self-sticking backs that adhere to the litter box, and plastic hooks on the
front. I just put the hook over the wire on the side of the cage, although
you can actually close the clip securely if your ferret is really pushy.
One litter box per corner: I got tired of having more litter boxes than
pieces of furniture in my house, especially since as often as not the
little weasels used the floor in front of the litter box. Now I just put
down a couple of sheets of newspaper in their favorite corners, and they
never seem to miss. Cheap, easy to clean up, it almost feels civilized.
And the corners I didn't feel like having newspaper in I piled dirty
clothes in for a week or two and they lost interest in them. We still have
a couple of litter boxes just for old time's sake (and for the cat), but we
all seem to like the newspaper better. Oh yes -- I try to reward anyone I
catch using a litter box or newspaper with a squeeze of Petromalt.
Non-ferret people are always astounded when I tell them the ferrets
consider their medication to be a TREAT.
Ferret math: I know it's tempting to just keep on adding to the collection,
but here's how I keep my family from growing. When I get the itch, I ask
myself when was the last time each ferret got to go outside for a good long
walk, and when each had my undivided attention for at least a half hour of
serious roughhousing. I try to be a good ferret mom, but the answer to
those questions is rarely "every day" (although they're out and about for
12-20 hours each day). I'm not saying you shouldn't take in ferrets, for
whatever reason, but I haven't yet been able to convince myself that the
time I'd put into a new ferret wouldn't be better spent improving quality
of life
<oops, had to take a break for a smooch session with Mr. Shower Hog>
for the current residents. And one more thing. Lots of people post to the
list for advice about how to solve this or that problem (biting, pooping,
fighting, etc.). My experience is that those problems all generally
diminish with time, as long as home life is stable. Add a new ferret and
everyone decides to change their routine. If you've never gone more than a
few months without adding a ferret, you might give it a try. All of you
might like it.
-- Kim, now residing happily in the Peacable Kingdom
Khaz (what? I used to bite your toes when I was little?)
Mackenzie (hey, I used to hate Khaz but now I *like* sleeping with her)
Smokey (oh, you want me to use the paper? why didn't you say so sooner?)
Ferrari (gosh, I guess I'll never get that dog to play like a ferret)
Tarkio (whatever...)
[Posted in FML issue 2606]
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