People, let's remember that ferrets are animals, just like we are, and
they have instincts, like we do.

This means that the reason a ferret kills something can be many:
hunger, raw instinct, fun, excitement, etc.

This does not make a ferret evil if they choose to kill something, vs a
ferret who wouldn't hurt a fly. We all know cats who don't touch rats
or mice if encountered, who make friends with dogs and birds. But we
all know cats who eat bugs, bring rats, mice, voles, and birds to the
front doorstep (or if you have a dog door, to the kitchen) who don't
eat it. Whether they consider it a trophy, an offering, or actually
eat most of their catch, the deed is done.

We can't give a good or bad label to hunting. We ourselves, many of us,
go to the store and pick up hamburger and porkchops, or chickens, which
yes are already killed, but if they were not, we would have had to. I
wonder how many people would be able to kill, and how many would take
alternative means of sustenance.

I think it is clear that some ferrets do kill things because they have
a drive to. But not all. Does it really make a difference? I am sure if
mine were brought up on raw, that they would have eaten the mouse one
of them killed. But having never been fed raw at that point, they did
in fact dispatch the escaped mouse, and it was no "accident" - I won't
go into details but I am quite sure the point was to kill it by
whomever killed it.

I can see the point Ed has about killing food, then going back to get
more before continuing to eat. I am absolutely sure this is what they
are doing with their egg toys, kongs, and all other toys they prize.
These are substitutes for their food, their hunted, and they are
storing what's left.

After all, we probably all see ferrets who take a kibble from the bowl,
or perhaps a mouthful, and go stash it and eat, away from the souce. It
has been said this is so other animals don't come and steal the killed
prey. Who knows. But I do believe that ferrets were bred as much for
mousing as they were for ferreting rabbits and other large prey, and
that many of them still retain this instinct. As far as ratting, I
believe that is a lesser trait, as I have observed it with mine that
they consider rats as one of their own, unless the rat starts making
a lot of noise during play. I have also read source documents from
ratters in NY and other cities in the US from years ago, who said they
would have to go through a lot of ferrets to find one that could
actually effectively hunt and kill rats, saying only a "special kind
of ferret" could rat.

Laryssa

[Posted in FML 6224]