Sorry I've not responded to this post before now but I've been doing a show
in York with my ferrets (PR work and racing).  Button my 'polecat' jill has
been bestowing lots more kisses on lots of folk.  Spooky has been washing
ears, Brecon has just been his usual handsome self.  Most of the gang have
worked their paws and tongues off just showing folk that they can be
affectionate and loving animals.
 
On the 24th(the other) Kat wrote:-
>The protein and fat percentages sound okay but the ingredients... OY!
 
Well my gang like it, and they seem to be doing well on it.  They also get
whole carcase in the form of day old chicks.  They don't digest the
feathers, they just pass straight through - I reckon they provide a useful
service by cleaning things as they go.
 
>The other thing I wonder about it your reference to a "polecat jill" ...
>"bestowed heaps of ferret kisses on him."  I thought I've read on here
>that polecats and ferrets are different species, no??
>Anyone want to jump in here and straighten me out?  I admit I don't read
>*every* message on here, but what have I missed??
 
When I am asked at PR shows and the like "What's the difference between a
polecat and a ferret?" my usual answer is, "Two and half thousand years of
domestication."  There are other differences which would probably only be
of interest to someone who is well into the subject but to the average none
ferret person the reply is enough, they aren't looking for such things as
the skull shape, brain size etc.
 
OK in here in the UK we call a polecat coloured ferret a polecat ferret,
but it's still a ferret. We normally only have 4 colour divisions in our
ferret shows - albino, polecat, sandy and coloured - the coloured takes
in all colours not covered by the first three classes - we just don't go
in for all the different classes for colour variations.
 
Sheila
Bolton Ferret Welfare & National Ferret Welfare Society Newsletter Editor
http://www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm (Last Update 10 May, 1998)
Waiting at Rainbow Bridge: Jill, Deanna Troi & Cameron
[Posted in FML issue 2322]