Sure, they like olive oil, & it's not bad for them, but I think if the oil
is a food (e.g. vegetable oil, lard), it is absorbed in the intestines and
therefore does not act as a laxative.  Mineral oil does act as a laxative,
and both my ferrets happily eat food that has mineral oil poured over it.
One of them (as well as one of my cats) won't eat commercial hairball
remedy - it's like you're trying to poison them.  & mineral oil's a lot
cheaper than the commercial remedies, too...
 
Thank you to those who share their funny stories.  By mid-Feb in New
England the world is grey & burdensome & we need something to laugh
about.... Milly, I laughed out loud picturing you following some alarmed
soul while going on & on about the virtues of ferrets.
[Posted in FML issue 2593]