Been thinking about getting a ferret as a pet companion? They can be great pets, especially for people dealing with a space issue. However, they are simply not for everyone. Ferrets are highly intelligent creatures and can readily adjust their life to your lifestyle. They will sleep anywhere from 16 to 20 hours a day, and are known to sleep when their owners are not at home. They can eat a high quality ferret or kitten food, be trained to use a litter box and can be kept in a cage. They can be single pets, or get along with cats and dogs (depending on the individual cat and dog). If ferrets are your only pets, it is often nice if they have another ferret to keep them company. You will need to buy the largest cage you can accommodate, especially if you plan on keeping them up for most of the day. Give them plenty of room to play and wrestle in when you are not around. Plus you need space for a litter box, water bottle or bowl, food bowl. It is good to have linens as bedding and as covering for the floors, if they are wire. Hammocks are great for ferrets, be sure to have one. If you don't want to use linens to cover the flooring, it is easy to install stick on tiles or indoor/outdoor carpet to do the job. Give them some toys. You should not get rubber or latex toys. Ferrets are quite notorious for chewing and swallowing these things. It can lead to an intestinal blockage with may require surgery if the ferret is to survive. But you also need to make sure you can give them some time each and every day. They get bored easily and they will really bond with you and miss you if you don't. They love to play chase, wrestle, cuddle and such with you their human. To make sure you can play safe with them, you need to make sure your home is ferret proof. The first step to ferret proofing is to walk around and pretend you are preparing your house for a toddler. Got an expensive piece of decorative glass? Put it up high. Close of your fireplace. Next, you need to ferret proof. Search your house for small openings that they can get into. Look for holes around two inches square. Cover these with something like heavy cardboard, masonite or other material. Block of appliances, the toe kick under the cabinet, under doors if needed. Yes, the ferret can be trained to a litter box. But this is not a guarantee. Or if they do, they may not use it all the time. You can just not count on ferrets being as good as cats are. Also ferrets can be prone to cancers as they age and can need surgical care. This can be expensive. If you are not willing to give your time, patience, and live with such an active little animal, then perhaps a ferret isn't for you. But if these things don't scare you off, then you might just be in for the most rewarding pet around. [Posted in FML issue 3086]