The very first time I took my very first ferret to my current vet I was
asking him about the number of ferrets he usually sees (about one a week).
He mentioned that he just saw one the previous week and the owner wanted
him to declaw the ferret.  He said he told the guy to get a life and
refused to do it.  (Knowing this guy, he probably said it just like that
too!)
 
I have a problem with all four of mine being avid scratchers.  They have
ripped the inside of the couch apart to get inside of it - we covered the
whole thing (under and behind the cushions) with some pretty blue
burlap and a roll of duct tape and they haven't made a scratch. . . not
for lack of trying though.  They also damaged the carpet pretty badly in
a couple of spots to try to get into the closet (nothing a good pair of
scissors couldn't fix though).  I haven't ever considered having them
declawed though.
 
I would be willing to listen to suggestions on how to get them to
stop doing it though.  Right now we just block off part of the house
so they cannot get to the closet and it works really well.  As soon as
they get to play in that part of the house though, they go right back
to scratching at the floor around the closet.
 
We also have one who has taken to biting the carpet.  Now, this I could
really use some help on.  It doesn't matter where he is, he just plops
down and proceeds to get his fangs stuck in the loops (purposefully) and
then rips his teeth out.  So far, he hasn't done too much damage - far
less than the scratching anyway, but it's got to stop.  Hints?  The
ferret that is doing it is an unneutered male who's about 5 1/2 months
old and I think his testosterone levels are up (he's due to go under
the knife soon. . .), and he's beating on the other animals pretty
badly too - let's just say he spends a fair amount of time being
banished from playing with everyone else, because he'd rather make the
rest of the gang scream in pain (like right now for instance).
 
Someday they'll have their own little room. . .
 
Michelle
 
[Posted in FML issue 0224]