>Non-sequitor.  Unfortunately its not a matter of cost nor effort sometimes.
>In many parts of the country you DO have to go out of your way to find
>ferrets.  Wanna read my email where folks are begging for ferrets because
>they can't get them where they are?  If the price of ferrets goes back up
>they will return to a more faddish status where you have to be rich enough
>to afford one.  That brings in folks who want a ferret just to have one as
>a status symbol not to have as a pet.  Look at the folks who spend many
>thousands of dollars on a Tennessee walking horse just to torture it into
>stepping high.
 
Or the numbers of people who buy African Greys and Sun Conures--as well
as other expensive birds--and then give them away because they hadn't
considered how much time and attention most parrots need!  (More than
ferrets do, honest.  My tiel is helping me write this, and I've had to
type this sentence six times.)  It seems to me that a lot of ferret folks
really hyper-focus on ferrets and their problems, without seeing that
they're problems that are quite common in the entire pet community.  I find
the problems with owning a ferret quite similar to those of owning birds,
and I own both.  There's not much health care, or support for ownership.
Both ferrets and parrots tend to have strong, demanding personalities, and
require a lot of time--although actual CARE of a healthy ferret or parrot
isn't all that time-consuming.  Cleaning cages and filling water bottles
and food dishes doesn't take long at all.  What they require is attention
and affection, not to mention training.
 
I started thinking all this because of this whole concept that if ferrets
become as popular as dogs or cats, animals shelters everywhere will be
euthanizing ferrets as a matter of course.  I find it extremely unlikely.
I feel awful for the plight of the ferret shelter operators out there, and
most of them are wonderful folks, but the fact remains that they're only a
few people trying to do a lot of work.  Most large animal shelters don't
accept ferrets because they're not equipped for them.  If they did, I think
there would be adequate resources to deal with unwanted ferrets--because
their numbers do not and never will compare to the numbers of unwanted
cats, dogs, and rabbits.  Why?  Because almost all ferrets are neutered.
The problem with dogs and cats is overbreeding and irresponsible breeding,
combined with established feral populations.  Ferrets are unlikely to ever
establish feral populations, considering the kind of health problems
associated with breeding jills, and because of those same problems almost
all pet ferrets are spayed or neutered.
 
>Nope.  As ferrets become more widespread there is more chance of research
>for them.  While they were a uncommon pet there was no desire for companies
>to research and develop products.  Even if there is this illusory magic
>research money it doesn't make sense for companies to develop products for
>a tiny market.
 
Case in point: there are two veterinary hospitals here (that I know of)
that have had so many calls about ferrets that they've actually assigned
one of their vets to learn about them and keep up to date on what's going
on in the ferret community.  This is a tremendous thing for those of us
with ferrets--now we not only have a decent ferret vet, we have two to
choose from!  If those clinics hadn't gotten a whole lot of phone calls,
we'd still be wishing we could get through veterinary school really really
fast so we could do it all ourselves. :-)
 
>I am not politically correct about ferrets.  I think people should have
>ferrets.  I am egalitarian about it.  Rich folks, poor folks.  City folks,
>country folks.  It is elitist to want to price people out of ferret
>ownership.
 
I'm a poor person who owns ferrets.  Sure, affording decent care for them
can be hard, but I made that decision a while back.  My kids come first--
and my kids are my animals.  Saying a poor person shouldn't be allowed to
own a ferret is like saying a poor person shouldn't be allowed to have
children.  And I know some people actually believe that.  Talk about
politics.
 
Around here, ferrets don't seem to be in that much of a predicament.
There's one shelter and a few rescues, most of us empty most of the time.
There are well-educated folks in pet stores, myself included in that.
Ferrets advertised in the local free classifieds are usually snapped up
very quickly.  I feel much worse for cats.
 
Jen and the Crazy Business
[Posted in FML issue 2690]