>Mickey Rene <[log in to unmask]> wrote:-
>... My question is this: I've heard that ferrets and kittens get along
>great with each other, and I would like to get a kitten.  Does anybody
>have any experiences with having both ferrets and kittens and how they
>interact with each other? ...
 
I had a terrible experience last year involving a ferret and a kitten.  One
of my hobs got over climbed over the barrier confining him and his cage
mates to the living room.  I normally had the door shut as well when this
group were out because he could climb the barrier - all I can think is that
the door didn't latch properly and the dog pushed it open.  I heard kitten
squeals coming from upstairs - I tore upstairs but I was too late there was
the ferret with the kitten in its mouth.  The kitten died a couple of hours
later, shock and loss of blood.
 
I don't in any way blame the ferret for what happened, he was just obeying
his instincts as a hunter/killer.  BTW the kitten was only 3 weeks old and
wasn't able to escape from the attentions of the ferret an older kitten
just might have been able to get away.
 
Your own ferrets might have lost some of the hunter/killer instincts but
please don't leave them and a kitten unsupervised.
 
Sheila
Bolton Ferret Welfare & Editor of The National Ferret Welfare Society.
Web Site: www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm  last update 28 Feb 1999
Waiting at Rainbow Bridge: Jill, Deanna Troy, Cameron, Carnath, Button,
Bill & Bobby.
[Posted in FML issue 2623]