Ferret owners speak up for pets
By Jeff Knaysi
F&t (ft# Oregon D&!> f.
Ferrets will not rip your fai e
off, eat your baby or give you
rabies. Hut they def'nitely smell
terrible.
Unfortunately, many Ameri
cans may never have the chance
to savor the horrendous stench
of a ferret because of widespread
prejudice against the furry crea
ture.
Ferrets have been accused of
spreading rabies, destroying
crops, killing livestock and oth
er vicious activities, all of whu h
are false. They are often con
fused with the vicious European
polecat, which kills its prey.
Still, it is tins ignorance that
has caused many states and
cities to ban the ferret as a pot by
classifying them as wild ani
mals, alongside cougars and
tigers.
This will change if Mike
McCarthy, a forestry worker
who is staunchly pro-ferrets, has
his way.
While he was on business in
California last September, he
and his ferrets were harassed
and blackballed. He is joining a
class action suit to re-legali/e
ferrets against the state of Cali
fornia. which banned ferrets as
pets in 1987.
"It’s absurd," he said.
"There's a lot of scary stories
that thev kill babies or chickens
That's ridiculous.”
McCarthy wants to go down
to California in a month and a
half to take part in the suit. Fer
rets are also banned ns pets in
Massachusetts, Hawaii and
Michigan.
Ferrets. like many other crea
tures. have had a stigma
attached to them that is not
based on seientifit evidenie
Ironically, most specialists
believe that ferrets were bred as
pets bv the ancient Egyptians
300 to 500 years before cats
seductively twitched their butts
and captured the hearts of
h limans.
Apparently, eight million
Americans are continuing this
trend, according to the Ameri
can Ferret Association. My
Mc( iarthv's estimation, there are
about 5,000 to 10,000 ferrets in
Lane County alone, although
there is no wav this can be con
firmed
NOMMAN Mf SMAH V< **« f "iml
Eight million Americans own ferrets despite the stigma attached to
them There are about 5.000 to 10,000 ferret owners In Lane County.
The popularity of this cousin
of the weasel was i on firmed by
Klectra. a clerk at Scamp's Pet
Store in Valley River Center,
where ferrets sell for $69.99.
"We usually get them in even
couple of weeks," Klectra said
"They are a quick sale "
Stove (dose, a University Eng
lish graduate teaching fellow,
had a ferret for three years until
he had to put it to sleep bei ause
of cam or. He loved the creature
despite the fact that it loved to
bile.
"Thev like ankles. They
know whose ankles to bite,
w hose not to bite," he said
In fact, most ferrets love to
bite so much that sleeping with
them is not advised.
"Anything that sticks out.
he'd bite He bit toes and other
assorted items." Close said "Not
good to sleep w ith."
The mechanic s of owning a
ferret are |>retn similar to own
ing a cat, though ferrets need i
little more care and training
While they will most likely nip
everything they see as young
sters, all that is needed is a
tweak on the nose and a firm
"no."
The young animal will soon
learn if it is given proper train
ing for nourishment, it is
advised to feed your pet ferret
dried cat food.
As for toilet needs, thev are
"easier to litter train than a i at,
McCarthy said. They will gener
ally pic k out a c orner and mark
their territory by urinating m it
This is where you should lay
clown u litter box
Some ferrets, such as the one
Close owned, would change
their preferred area every two
months nr so And. as with any
animals, there are always funny
bathroom stories
"Our dog came in the house,
and lie thought the ferrets were
little dogs, so he pissed on
everything in the house to mark
his territory He was a pretty stu
pid dog," Kuss Chinske, a Uni
versity senior and former ferret
owner, said
One thing that will strike von
immediately about ferrets is
their stench
"They have quite an aroma.”
said Fran, a dispatcher at the
l.ane County Animal Control
Center "You either love them or
von hate them Hut they are real
ly fun to watch play
There is a simple remedy
they can he dest culled (have
their musk glands removed) for
about $100, and this should take
care of most of the problem,
though a faint odor will linger.
Keep in mind that ferrets are
related to skunks, w ith the main
difference being most skunks
speak with a Frenc h accent.
For those still skeptical), Mike
McCarthy spoke for most own
ers when he said. "They take
some getting used to Now I
wouldn't have any oilier pet
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