We found a ferret!! *See post 8 - in his new home!*

[Miss Z]

My dad found a ferret whilst he was at work today in the company warehouse, and we've brought him home!

We think he's probably escaped from his home, as he is very friendly and active and looks very well groomed and cared for. We've got him in my old rabbit hutch and given him some turkey meat and dog biscuits and water, he was absolutely ravenous! Poor guy.

We'll be putting up signs around the area he was found and notifying vets and the shelter in case the owner tries to contact them. I don't know how long we can keep him at my house for - my mum doesn't like ferrets very much, but the shelter (which I volunteer at) did recently have a lot of small animals come in at once, and they may be too full to take him.

Any advice from any ferret owners on this board?

Oh, and I've nicknamed him 'Smirnoff'.

I'll get pictures up soon.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Just a thought- Don't you have Polecats there? Could he be a wild Polecat or are you sure he's a domestic ferret?

It's been years since I've had a ferret so I don't really have any advise for you, I've think I've forgotten just about everything important to keeping a ferret. All I remember is that they are loads of fun!

[Karen]

Toys that make noise are good - rolly balls, etc. I hope you find his owners soon! He sounds well-cared-for, so may be an SKP!

[Casper]

Aww, I adore ferrets.

A few tips:
Both of my ferrets love having piles of old towels and clothes to burrow in, it is always the first thing they run to during out-of-cage time. And like Karen said, anything that is noisy usually goes over well, too. For treats you could try a small amount of cooked egg(hard-boiled is a favorite around here).
If there is anything specific you would like to know, feel free to ask.

Hopefully an owner is found, but it is good to know that in the meantime he has a nice place to reside.
Good luck!

[Miss Z]

KBlaix - he definitely isn't a polecat; we do get martens, stoats and weasels around here, but we are certain he is a domestic ferret.

Here is the little cutie himself (sorry for bad pic quality, it's taken in my garage where the lighting is awful, and he is very fidgety!):



I've put in a fruity-tasting chew which Flossie didn't like and a cat toy which used to be Zsa-Zsa's, but I'll see if I can get him any better toys, if we end up having him for a few nights.

ETA: thanks Courtney! I'll go and boil him an egg now. Flossie loves hard boiled egg too, so they can share.

[Miss Z]

Well, Smirnoff is still with us, we've had no luck trying to trace an owner. We knocked on doors, put up notices in supermarkets and corner shops, and put an ad in the local newspaper, as well as giving all vets and rescue centres in the area our phone number in case someone contacts them about a lost ferret.

We also took him to get scanned for a microchip (which he despised, the vet has a sore thumb to prove it!), but no luck there either.

We are starting to think that he may have been thrown out. He has a slightly deformed front paw, which could just be a birth defect, but could be a sign of him being kept in something unsuitable. He also doesn't like a hand anywhere around his head or in front of him, which could suggest some rough handling. I would have thought that if he indeed escaped of his own accord, his owners would have come across us by now. We will keep persevering though for now.

Sadly, although I would love to, I doubt I could keep him if we never find an owner. I've just started sixth form college, and there is no way I can care for him as well as Flossie and the gerbils on top of all my schoolwork. He needs a lot of time and attention and I just don't think it's something I could offer him long term. My parents are not too keen on looking after a ferret, and my brother always runs a mile when it's cleaning out time, so his welfare would be in my already incredibly busy hands. We have got a few possible new homes for him if we don't trace an owner and I'm sure with one of those people, he would get the love and care he deserves.

We will probably keep hold of him for a few more days, just in case, and will then investigate what we can do in Smirnoff's best interest. I'll miss the little guy when we do say goodbye, he is such a character.

I took some pictures of him today and I'll post them soon.

[IRescue452]

Poor guy, but he's now become one of the luckiest strays around, he's found a PT human to look after him for a while Ferrets must be kept far away from rats and gerbils, so he'll probably be best off finding a nice home elsewhere, even though he's a cute little rascal.

[Miss Z]

Thanks for all the interest in little Smirnoff. Sorry I haven't updated sooner, I've had a lot of schoolwork lately and a few internet problems so haven't been able to post much.

We found Smirnoff the most amazing home! We contacted a couple who rescue unwanted ferrets and keep them at their home for the rest of their days. The ferrets mean everything to these people, and as soon as they saw our little man, they were in love.

He can now interact with all the other ferrets and gets to play in the house everyday, which is completely ferret-proof! I'm so glad he's found his happy ending. His new guardians will also let me come to visit him sometime in his new home.

As for whoever his previous owners were, we have no idea. It seems he probably was abandoned - a resident of the area we found him contacted us and said some people had recently moved away very suddenly, and they think left two ferrets behind, one most likely being Smirnoff. As far as we know, no second ferret has been found. If it does actually exist, I hope that it hasn't come to any harm.

I would have loved to have kept him myself, but as I said, time is not on my side and Smirnoff really needed a lot of one-to-one time, which he will be getting a lot of, deservedly, in his new home. He did come out of his shell considerably, though, whilst he stayed with us and began to get more accustommed to handling, so I expect that by now he's a lot calmer around people.

[Casper]

Thanks for the update!
It sounds like Smirnoff really lucked out.
I love happy endings.