I'd been "half" of The Ferret & Dove Sanctuary during its entire,
now-defunct , existence and at one point we had 7 cats with an average
of 30 to 70 ferrets. Some ferrets are intolerant of any other critters
other than "their" human. Many ferrets can't seem to resist teasing at
or going-so-far-as to chomp onto the bellies of any cats they can reach
unless the cat stays high out of easy chomping reach (which six of ours
soon learned to do the hard way :) and just one little white mothering
cat, Sphynx Mysteria, decided in her own mind that the ferrets were all
her own adopted-strange kittens and treated them each and every one
just that way...she was never "chomped" but would gently bat any
potential gnosher away with a paw that had its rat-killer claws
carefully sheathed. Once when a new grown cat was introduced to the
household, she made the grave mistake of thinking to sniff noses with a
pair of the ferrets who were out playing at the time and while sniffing
with one, got her belly CHOMPED-on by the other who wasn't about to let
go (pit-bull-ferrety-style), so the poor cat was yowling and trying to
run around in circles, which brought Sphynx Mysteria out to
what-was-all-the-ruckus and she hauled off and WHAMMED the luckless new
cat for "disturbing her kittens" ...shut her up in blank-eyed surprise!
Then Sphynx gave that gentler little "bat" to the chomper who released
his "death-hold" , allowing the new cat to escape to the highest
book-case-top she could possibly leap to. So I tell you what...it's
mostly a personality-thing. NO two cats OR ferrets being alike, but
what it is, is no matter what, supervise EVERYBODY very closely when
and if they're all out, together...whether one species or several.

(pics of former critters of the Sanctuary are here, including some of
the cats near the bottom...only Elrond Buttontail Cat is still alive
and with me. First two pics will be of my late husband and president
of the Sanctuary, whom after he died I had to sell our only car to pay
the property taxes and close down. )

http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/ferret_rescuer/index.html

[Posted in FML 7887]