Welcome to my blog. If you don't like ferrets I suggest you back away slowly, gather your belongings and leave quietly by the door to your right. I adore ferrets. Obsessed is a strong word - but maybe not entirely inaccurate.
A little history:
Ferrets are a domestication of the polecat - whether this is of the european polecat (Mustela putorius) or the steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii) or a mix of the two remains the subject of debate. The scientific name Mustela putorius furo (translation - weasel-like smelly thief!) suggests the european polecat is the primary ancestor but who can really be sure with something domesticated over 2000 years ago? Ferrets are even mentioned in the bible - admittedly not in the best light... "These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole." Apparently this is what the Lord said to Moses and Aaron. It's true - seriously, look it up if you don't believe me: Leviticus 11 29-30. Good job I'm not religious or I'd be spending the rest of my years worrying about my future damnation as I've kept many of the aforementioned unclean creeping things.
Another important ferret fact:
Ferrets are NOT rodents. I have a real bee in my bonnet about this so never make that mistake in front of me unless you want a lecture on taxonomy. The belong to the family Mustelidae. The only thing a ferret has in common with a rodent is that they are both in the class Mammalia. That's a pretty weak link considering Mammalia also includes humans who rarely get mistaken for rodents (or mustelids for that matter).
So there we are, I've had my little rant and now on to the real point of all this... my ferret family.
I currently have four ferrets:
Willow (aka Wills) - Age 8ish, stasher of plastic bags and attacker of torches. She's blind now but gets around well and enjoys her treat of 'Waitrose Goose and Bacon in gravy' cat food.
Peregrine (aka Peregrine Pickle / Perry / Perriwinkle) - Age 7ish, he's special, that's all I can say. The picture sums him up.#
Rupert (aka Roo) - Age 7ish and Peregrines brother. He looks like butter wouldn't melt but I assure you it would. Behind the cute innocent look lies a ferret ready to nip your ankles and run up your trouser leg. Well, less so these days, he's a bit fat and old now - but he still thinks about it.
Little Man (offically 'Nadal' - he's a rescue ferret from where I work but I don't think the name suits him) - Age: 6-7ish. He has adrenal disease so is at times a bit bald. His condition is managed fairly sucessfully (so far at least) with a suprelorin implant. He's also blind in one eye, probably going blind in the other and has a lump on his tail (could be benign tumour, could be an old fracture - not sure which). He had all these problems when I took him home - I'm a sucker for an elderly sick animal! My mum actually refers to my house as St. Scratcher's Home for Elderly and Infirm Ferrets.
So that's my current ferret family. They're brilliant and I love them. I can't sign off yet though, I have one more to mention: Archie, my lovely amazing boy who passed away in July 2010 aged 7. He had lymphoma but he died peacefully and had a good long life. He was Willow's brother. He was obsessed by 'Bee' (a vibrating bee toy) and was surely one of the greatest ferrets to have ever lived. There will never be another one like him. And so I include him in my ferret family introductions because all though he's no longer here, he will undoubtably be mentioned in this blog.
So there we have it. The clan.
Oh, one last thing - yes, I'm mad. Totally bonkers in fact.
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