I am amazed at how many new revelations I continue to have concerning my
ferrets.  Oddly, until this point in time, I had my doubts on exactly how
attached a ferret could be to a human owner.  I knew that my ferrets
enjoyed playing with me and being scratched on the neck and fawned over.
As for becoming depressed and lonely without me there, I never believed
they were capable of this.  That is until my four day trip away from the
state the past few days ago.
 
I recently reset up a ferret room for the purpose that I haven't had the
incredible amount of time I used to have with them.  When we had to go out
of town, I set them up extra water bowls, bottles, and food stashes
throughout the room.  I increased the litter pans, and newspapers and toys
and left a radio playing.  I had a friend check on them but enabled the
room so that she would not have to worry about cleaning litter pans and
feeding and watering them.  Just looking to see they were all safe.
 
When I returned I walked into the room first thing, and all four slowly
emerged from various hiding places in the room.  Willow ran VERY quickly
to me and began to lick my arm rigorously and incessently.  Othella tried
to climb on me and would stick her nose against my leg like she was poking
me.  Piper froze in mid step and blinked at me with this pathetic "could
it be her, is this a ghost, does she still love me" look.  I had to call
her saying her name in this certain "tone" she recognizes to get her to
come to me.  Then, in the middle of loving three ferrets that will not
leave my side and continue to stare up at me after I put them down, Liam,
my only boy (mama's boy), comes out from under the spare bed, looks at me
with this pouty face and turns around quickly.  He goes back under the bed
and stares up at me.
 
I've never seen behavior like that from a ferret much less from him
before.  I called him in his certain tone and he stared at me with this
angry look.  I come closer, he stares at me, doesn't move.  I finally
reach in and pick him up and give him a cuddle and kiss and he snaps out
of it, and begins to make this chuckle sound and lick me.  I nearly cried.
 
They continued to all follow me around the room as I cleaned their boxes
and stared up at me.  Willow wanted nothing but to be picked up and her
belly tickled, Othella wanted me to pull the string toy around teh room
for her to chase, Liam wanted me to wrestle, and Piper just wanted to
chase me.  (We have a game where I run away and she chases me then when I
turn around she hides).
 
They defiently have a concept of time, of love and loyalty, and
sensitivity.  They can be angry, lonely, dejected.  I knew this, but
didn't believe it could be at that extent.  My ferrets depend on me not
just for food and play but for companionship.  I could have 60 ferrets
or just one and each one would be devoted to me.  I won't take that
responcibility lightly ever again.
 
Julia and her spiteful ferrets: Othella the acrobat, Liam the poet,
Willow the beauty queen, and Piper the charmed one.
[Posted in FML issue 3679]