Excerpts from mail: 6-Mar-93 Ferret List Issue 429 by Ferret Mailing List@ferr
> I let mine run free, and I always ask people why they keep theirs in
> cages, as it has been shown to cut their life span almost in half.
>
> Also, my question to them is this:  Ferrets are somehwat like kittens
> and cats.  Would you keep a cat in a cage?
 
Ok, this is a bit too inflammatory for me. Just *which* study is this
that showed it cuts their lifespan in half? Mine are just fine, thank
you. So are the ferrets of everyone else I know. And how it is going to
cut their lifespan in half if you keep them safe from household hazards
and supervise their play? Sheesh. Grrrrrrr.
 
Look, people LOVE their ferrets and if someone says something that
sounds like a judgement that we're not taking good care of them, we're
going to bristle. Big time. I don't usually bristle easily, so I suspect
this is going to cause a fairly big stir.
 
I keep my babies in the cage because they trash my house otherwise. And
they try to eat the inside of my couch, as well as lots of other things.
Unless you're going to put the in a room with practically nothing else,
you can't get it 100% safe. But that's just my opinion ... you might say
the results of my personal 6-year study with approx 10 ferrets. :)
 
--Barb--
 
[Posted in FML issue 0431]