I have been lurking for about a month now.  My son and his girlfriend got a
ferret  and the fellow at the pet store had told them if they had access to
the internet there was a world of information about ferrets.  Well, good old
mom (me) has the internet connection at work and I've been printing out the
digests and taking them home.  (also the FAQs) .  It has been so helpful to
them and I have also learned a lot !  I'm not sure what the current name of
their ferret is (they've changed it several times); however we have all
enjoyed the little guy, to the extent that we wished to get another ferret.
 
Lucky person that I am, my birthday was just the excuse needed.  We found a
female ferret and cage in the newspaper for $100.  The "kids" went to see
her and brought her home.  So now I have "Dookie" the birthday ferret.  She
is under a year old.  Her previous owner kept her in the cage a lot because
she had two indoor dogs which didn't get along with the ferret.  Dookie is
skinny.  She was started on ferret food when the lady first bought her from
the pet store, but when that ran out, Dookie was put on a dog food diet.  I
have read that cat food is okay, but not dog food.  She is now on a mix of
Marshall's ferret food and dry cat food and is eating.   So we expect her to
put on weight.
 
My question is this: will the several months of eating dog food cause Dookie
any health problems in the future or shorten her life span? She is playful
and alert and doesn't nip or bite.(people at least).  She's been really good
for the younger ferret.    Also, can ferrets really mourn themselves to
death if separated from their ferret buddy?   ALSO....I always thought a
polecat was another name for a skunk, maybe that is just here in Texas?  Do
people keep European Polecats as pets?   Do you know if there are any ferret
breeders in Texas? .   Thanks for the answers and for listening.
[Posted in FML issue 1294]