A Ferret Manual: How to Train and Manage Your Human (ePub)

An animal lover since she was a young girl, Karen has three dogs,one cat, three horses, one husband . . . and four ferrets. It might be better, though, to say that these ferrets share her home. When you have a pet that combines a cat's curiosity and an otter's playfulness and a dog's silly antics, you can't really say you own it.Karen has been sharing her home with ferrets for about four years (as of this writing – September 2011). They are Rikki, a female albino ferret, and Possum, a male panda ferret, and Loki and Luna. Her adventure with pet ferrets began like this . . .Karen found Rikki, the fuzzball who started her love affair with ferrets, curled up on the ground beside her truck at work on a cold, rainy December night. Karen scooped her up, dried her off, and took her home. (She did do her best to locate the owners.) Thus began her life with ferrets.After having Rikki for about a year, Karen began to feel guilty about not being able to give her the attention she needed (because of work and family and all that). So, in early November, she put on her brightest, most-fetching smile and asked her husband for an early Christmas present. And he said, "We'll see" – which was close enough to "Yes" for Karen.So in a few days they set off to the local pet store to find Rikki a "baby brother." Karen took Rikki with her so she could help pick out her "brother," but Rikki, her furry little mind boogled by ferret speed dating, couldn't make a decision. Karen decided for her, and she made a good choice. Possum is a playmate, cohort in adventure and loving companion to Rikki and both a joy and a trial to Karen.Now, Karen shares her enthusiasm for fuzzy carpet sharks and growing knowledge of ferrets with anyone willing to listen. Ferrets are fairly high-maintenance pets. They require a lot of care, a lot of attention, in-depth knowledge of diet and health issues, and just the right ferret accessories and ferret toys.Karen’s goal is to help people who are in the same boat she