FallinWoman 1 #1 January 23, 2002 So...this evening, after seeing a rat in my parent's yard (I love animals, but rats gross me out!), I opened my garage door to get the cat food. I looked down and saw two beady little eyes peering up at me. I jumped back and slammed the door. Have I mentioned that I HATE RATS!?!?!I had to know, of course, so I opened the door again, and saw the creature was even closer to the door....he was way less afraid of me than I of him!. Turns out he was not a gross rat, but a cute little ferret!What the hell am I supposed to do with a ferret in a household that already contains a dog and three cats?? I captured him (more like opened my cat carrier and in he pranced) and then let him back out to have some water while I evaluated my options. I talked to a neighbor who owns ferrets and works with the ferret rescue organization (FURRY??) She agreed to take him in, give him a safe and clean place to stay while we look for the owner. She also assured me that if the owner cannot be found, she will either keep him herself, or turn him over to FURRY, who does not kill homeless ferrets. He was so cute, I had trouble letting him go!AnneWhat do I make? Teachers make a difference. What do you make? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #2 January 23, 2002 Damn, Ferrets are cool, I want one, but they (the university) generally frowns on stuff like that in the dorms. Oh-well, some day.If you dont' find an owner, PM Malachi (flying ferret) and see if he wants it. He loves the things, but doesn't have one.Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.-General George Patton- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thrillseek 0 #3 January 23, 2002 ...they have stray ferrets in St. Louis??? tough town! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #4 January 23, 2002 It could be Clay's long lost lover...Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.-General George Patton- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #5 January 23, 2002 My most recent FB had a ferret. Pretty cute as rats go I guess. It was hilarious watching her Chihuahua and the ferret chase each other around the house...."I got some beers....Let's Drink em!!!"Clay Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ducky 0 #6 January 23, 2002 I had one of those lil rodents for awhile. Man talk about high maintenance! Stinky lil shits. I don't care what people say, if they have the "glands" removed. Ferret piss has like 10 times more amonia than a cat! Yikes.. but the are kinda cute i suppose.kwak Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #7 January 23, 2002 i have two ferrets, two dogs (a shih tzu and a jack russell), three cats and a chinchilla. with the exception of the chinchilla, who is at the very bottom of the food chain, all of them get along quite well. if it weren't for the cats, i'd have a couple more ferrets. there's nothing more entertaining!"Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."-J.Geils Band Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JDBoston 0 #8 January 23, 2002 I once had 2 chinchillas. Then four months later I had 3. Then soon I had 2 again. Then we shipped them out to my roommate's parents' house and they've been there ever since. It's amazing to me that such a stupid animal lives for 15-20 years.They sure were silky though.Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #9 January 23, 2002 i think it's more or less a lack of activity. they are silky, but they don't do a damn thing! boring as a pet rock. the ferrets on the other hand, get into everything. mine have figured out how to get up on the kitchen counters... knowing this, we don't leave anything out for them to get into, but they are clever."Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."-J.Geils Band Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #10 January 23, 2002 Whew! I'm relieved that Clay didn't start a "Creature in My Garage" thread.Ferrets are fun. My friend had a couple. They can have personalities and love to play games. However, they are some smelly animals. Stink, stank, stunk! They require a whole lot of care to keep them halfway sanitary, which many people aren't really willing to put in. A quick walk into a ferret-owner's house and you can tell who is who.Justin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #11 January 23, 2002 they are a little work, we bath them once a month (one of them likes it, the other hates it) adn clean their cage daily. since we let them run around the house for a few hours a day, there are little 'presents' left for us in corners. we bought a big plastic tote and put a bunch of ground corn cobs in it. they love to play and dig in it, and we have found they also are much better smelling afterwards! "Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."-J.Geils Band Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #12 January 23, 2002 Kingbunky,I'm not saying ferrets can't be kept without the house smelling, but that most people aren't willing to do the work required. It is good that you are. The corncob thing sounds cool.Justin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JDBoston 0 #13 January 23, 2002 You know what, though, if you let them out of the cage they'd run and jump all over everything - up the walls, under the furniture, etc. In fact we got a little harness and leash specifically to stop them from running under our sofa bed and hiding up inside it. They were real messy too. Dust and little shit pellets everywhere.Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyingferret 0 #14 January 23, 2002 Ferrets are awesome. I would love to help you out. But a) I think you are probably not in Texas, in which there is probably a better owner closer, and b) I really don't have time for one right now. I would not want to take one if I did not have the time to take care of it, and my IT job and commute really would not let me do that. But, I do pose the question.....ferret in your garage? stray? Maybe it is just me, but I have never heard of ferrets running around wild. Plus your neighbor works with them? Is she sure she did not bring it home accidentally or something I still plan to jump with a ferret somedayMalachi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheMarshMan1 0 #15 January 23, 2002 Everything ran/runs around in the wild at some point... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #16 January 23, 2002 one of ours got out one day without anyone noticing. a couple of kids came running up to our front door and said a 'big white rat' had just run into our garage... my wife went out and sure enough, it was our ferret. she had been running around the park across the street and knew enough to come home. not enough to look out for cars mind you, but she did come back. we are much more careful about opening doors, as soon as one opens, both of them are right there to try and get out."Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."-J.Geils Band Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #17 January 23, 2002 here's apic of them if anyone's interested... they have taken over one of our kitchen drawers, so we put some old rags and towels in it and they sleep there when they are out. it's a 1024x768 jpg, about 128k"Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."-J.Geils Band Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #18 January 23, 2002 Damn, those little guys are cute...Are they hard to take care of, well, what I mean is, do they generally try to get into too many things or tear up stuff, etc if they're allowed to run the house?Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.-General George Patton- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #19 January 23, 2002 they try, and usually succeed, at getting into everything. backpacks and grocery bags are fair game. they like to hide things too. things will go missing (shoes, gloves, cat toys etc) and they will turn up in a stash somewhere, usually the same places everytime. they aren't hard to care for at all, just an occasional bath and keep their cage clean. they can be litter trained as well, some people don't cage them at all. "Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."-J.Geils Band Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
