I would like to put my 2 cents in here and disagree with Sunny (not a
flame).
 
>please do ferrets a good deed and do NOT get any!  Here's why.
>1. You have a four-year-old child.  That child is too young to play with
>ferrets.
 
How are we going to teach children about animals if we say that they are
too young?  4, 6, 12 ???  How old is old enough?  By the time they are 12
or 14 they are set in their ways and have more "important" things to do
with their time.  (I know you didn't say 12 or 14....but I have heard
others say it)
 
If we teach a child at a young age about ferrets and how to handle them
then don't you believe that they will be better with ferrets and other
animals when they get older?  I was raised around dogs and cats.  Both can
hurt a baby.  Should my parents have gotten rid of them cause of me, or
never had them in the first place?  Of course not.  A ferret really isn't
that much different.  Yes, they can bite, but so can any other animal...
or person for that matter.
 
>2. You think you can find a ferret that does not bite, that is
>impossible.  All ferrets bite, it's their natural way of being; it's a
>form of play for them.  Ferrets are ... 'true carnivores', meaning they
>are meat eaters.  Therefore, they must 'practice game hunting' when they
>play, it is a normal, natural part of being a ferret.
 
I can't get my ferrets to eat meat...well, one I can every once in a
while.  Dogs and cats are meat eaters.  My dog chases rabbits, birds,
rats and anything else she can find in the yard.  And yes, she will eat
them.  My other dog prefers her meat dead and cooked.  Cats hunt mice
(mine doesn't cause he is lazy).  But my ferrets...well they prefer
ferret food and treats.  My cat plays the "practice game hunting" with me
more than I have ever seen my ferrets do it.  My cat also bites hard when
he plays sometimes.
 
>Yes, you can teach a ferret not to bite.  But you have a four-year-old
>child and that child WILL play with the ferrets (or attempt to play with
>them) and the ferrets WILL bite him, at which point the four-year-old
>could react to the bite and cause serious harm or even cause the death of
>the biting ferret. ....and a four-year-old WILL 'rough handle'... he's
>FOUR years old!
 
I have a ferret, Spice, anyone can handle her and she wouldn't bite.  As
I said before, every animal and person can bite.  I have seen a four year
old act great around ferrets and others act horrible.  What is the
difference?  Simple....interaction with the ferret and teaching from the
parents.
 
If a 2 year old is allowed to hold a cat or a kitten and drag it off
without a parent worrying too much....why are people so worried about a 4
year old that would be supervised with a ferret?  Of course the child
might get bit.  But it could be worse...he could be mauled by the family
dog (and yes, I have heard of that happening).
 
>Ferrets have very distinct waking /sleeping patterns and if you attempt
>to force a ferret to adjust its instinctive patterns to YOUR patterns,
>you WILL SERIOUSLY SHORTEN ITS LIFE.
 
Well then I must be a horrible person.  My ferret wake up at 7 am.  They
come out to play until 7:40 am and then are put up to go back to sleep.
They get back up between 3 and 4 pm and can stay up until about 10:30 pm.
I guess mine are going to all die soon because of this.  They have
adjusted to my life pattern.
 
>They hate, absolutely HATE!, being caged.
 
My niece hates, absolutely HATES not being able to roam the streets at
night.  A baby HATES being put in a crib at night.  I cage my ferrets at
night and when I am not home for THEIR safety...not mine.  If they don't
like it...well, they don't really have a choice in that matter.  They
are VERY spoiled and know what the cage is for....sleeping and eating.
Yes, they have toys and blankets and sleeping bags and tents in their
cage...they can play...but they don't.  They wait until we come home from
school or work to get out and play.  They don't seem to mind it at all.
 
>You must ask yourself why you want ferrets.  Is it for THEIR benefit...
>or simply for your own?
 
I have ferrets because I wanted them.  So would that mean it is for my
benefit?  If so, what is the harm in it?  They are happy, healthy and
very loved.  They DO benefit from me WANTING them.
 
>Get yourself a little dog or a cat... at least a cat can fight back, AND
>get out of the range of a four-year-old... a ferret cannot.
 
A ferret can get out of range of a child/teen/adult...from my view, more
than a cat can.  Have you ever tried to catch a ferret that is running
away!  They are much quicker than cats.  My cat can't get away from the
ferrets!  I am sure that if I brought a 4 year old in and timed him on
getting the cat and then getting a ferret...well let's just say, I think
the ferret would still be running loose long after the child fell asleep.
Plus, a cat can do more damage than a ferret.  Cats will use their claws
and their mouth.
 
>Guinea pigs are docile, interactive little animals.... They won't bite
>a kid (usually)and they aren't likely to get into as much mischief as a
>ferret.
 
My other niece has a guinea pig.  While I agree that they are docile
animals...they don't do too much.  Children tend to get bored of them.
They don't get into trouble cause they are normally cage animals.  Guinea
pigs can stay in their cage about 90% of the time and be happy with
getting lettuce every now and then.  Ferrets are not.  So of course
ferrets are going to get into more mischief...I would say about 90% more.
 
>Besides no one should have only one or two ferrets... that too is not
>fair to the ferret.  If you get one, it becomes unnaturally bonded to
>you, which is endearing in its own way, but very selfish.  If you get
>two, they bond to each other, then when one dies, the other suffers
>terribly over the loss.  When you have ferrets, you should always have
>at least three, so when one dies the others can console each other.
 
I have 6.  But what if I only had one.  Would that make me mean?  What if
I could only afford one?  That I put all my love and money into caring for
one ferret that I have to make sure that he had a great life....would that
be unfair?  Why is it unnatural for a ferret to bond with his owner?  So,
from the way I took it...you have to have a minimum of 3 ferrets.  You
can't just have one or two, it has to be three or more?  Well, maybe that
would be unfair to the ferret.  What happens if you get a ferret that
wants only one on one attention without any other ferrets around?  There
are Alphas out there both male and female.  They have to be a single
ferret.  So, what do you do with them?
 
>They make good pets, but ONLY if they are neutered.  This CLEARLY means
>they are not a domesticated carnivore, unlike cats.  I've had whole male
>ferrets and eventually, for the sake of the other ferrets, I've had to
>neuter it.  An unneutered male will eventually try to the kill the
>neutered males and he will harry the neutered females.
 
I do have a whole male.  I don't have a problem with him.  He sleeps with
3 females and one neutered male.  He is GREAT with kits.  Yes, they go
into "season" and try to mate, but he only "tries" things when he is out
and about....and we are home then so we just separate them.  He hasn't
tried to harm ANY ferret, dog, cat, or person.  Why wasn't he neutered?
He was between 4 and 7 years old when we got him last winter and we
decided that because of a hard life he had we didn't want to risk the
surgery with him.  There is no inconvenience to him, the other ferret or
us.  Some even claim that whole ferrets live longer...so you never know.
 
>The main reason we keep ferrets as pets is for our own pleasure, and
>that, in a way, is a sin because there's no particular 'benefit' to it
>for the ferret.
 
I think my ferrets benefit from being my pet.  As I said before, they are
loved, spoiled and happy.
 
> ........endanger their lives by keeping them around little children or
>if we are going to keep them in cages for our own convenience.
 
I guess, from your statement above, that all ferrets need to be in a home
where their are only adults that are home all of the time and can watch
their every step.
 
>Unless you have a cage the size of a room, it's just a cage and the
>ferrets know it.  They can be very happy living their lives inside a
>house as long as they can see outside and get plenty of fresh air, but
>they are FAR happier living with me on my small acreage, because they
>can GO outside.
 
I have a cage, it's called my house.  My cat has a cage it is called my
house.  My dogs have a cage, it is called the fence, my ferrets have a
cage it is called their house.  Why do we lock doors at night when we have
small children?  Why to we make sure they are safe in their rooms at the
end of the day?  Simple, we protect them.  Cages protect the ferrets.  I
don't cage them for MY benefit or really even for their benefit.  I do it
to protect them from harm that they can get into.  Some people do have
"free roam" ferrets and their home is the cage.  I don't live on any
acreage but my ferrets to get to go outside with us every week.
 
>You want to show your ferrets?  Then get a digital camera and show em
>online.
 
This is your choice.  Some people go to shows with ferrets and without
ferrets.  They go to have fun, talk with others, LEARN and have a great
time.  We don't go to "show off".
 
I am sorry that this post was so long.  The bottom line is...
 
Children should be allowed around ferrets...that is the only way for them
to learn All animals and people can bite.  Ferrets don't have to be fixed
to be a good pet.  Having 1 ferret is still better than having none...for
the ferret and for the owner.  Cages are used for protection
 
Joanne
Spice, Pepper, Bugs, Dodge, Kuri and Chocolate
[Posted in FML issue 3754]