>Ingella Arwidsson Wrote :
>What strucks me when I read the ferret list, are all the cages - it seems
>to me that almost everyone in the US keep their ferrets in cages and just
>let them out to play.
 
I son't know about Sweden but in the US not many apartment owners will allow
their tenents to have pets of any kind.  I have talked a few such owners
into allowing my ferrets into the building simply because they are caged
when I'm not home.  Some places it is almost impossible to find an apartment
that will allow ferrets at all.  We all know that they don't usually damage
the apartment unless they are extremely bored and have nothing else to do.
Frankly, I think my cat has caused more damage than any fuzzy could ever
dream of.  My ferrets are let out every chance I get.  They must stay caged
when I am gone because that is the agreement that I made with the manager.
And yes, they have come in periodically to check that they are caged.
 
In St. Paul, I have heard it said that you need a permit to have a fuzzy in
the city.  I have tried to acquire said permit but none of the city
departments wants to own up to the responsibilty of such a permit.  I have
gone on a round of calls that starts with wildlife and goes through animal
control and back around again to wildlife.  Everyone has their own idea as
to who should be able to issue said permit but noone actually has or has
seen this permit.  Due to the lack of said permit, I am very careful with
my fuzzheads.  I love them dearly and would not want to lose them.  I can't
move out of town yet either (don't think I haven't tried).  My fiance and I
share a car and work different shifts so it is difficult to move when you
need a ride to get to work.
 
In short, my fuzzies get out of the cage as often as possible whether they
are playing or not when they are free is up to them.  They do have free run
of the apartment now for around 6 hours (when I am home and awake).  I would
very much like to give them the opportunity to live outside of a cage
permanently and look forward to a time when I will be able to.  I am glad
that yours are so well cared for and quite envious that you can let them run
free in your place.  Please don't criticize us owners who do the best we can
with what we have to work with.  The problem isn't us but the societal views
of uneducated people within the country.  If you have been reading the FML,
you know that people have been fighting for the right to own these wonderful
creatures in the first place.
 
Boy, sorry to have made this sound like such a tirade.  I'll come down off
of my soap box now since I think others will most likely respond to this as
well.
 
Brenda
[Posted in FML issue 2338]