Ferret "Abandonment" - good or bad?

I've seen it on so many forums - "I can't keep my ferrets - can anyone take them?" When I first hear or read these words, I invariably get angry. You adopted this animal, gave it a home, and now you just want to abandon it? Your ferret has bonded with you, depends on you, and now you have no more use for it. Maybe it's too bitey for you, maybe you think it's boring now that it's older and doesn't play, maybe you don't feel like paying for its medical care, maybe you're moving somewhere that doesn't allow ferrets. There are a million reasons for deserting the animal that loves you, most of which diehard ferret owners think are completely invalid.

Then I think about it - yes, there ARE some valid reasons for not being able to keep animals anymore, and those reasons are unique and personal for each person. Who are we to tell them that their personal experience is invalid? Who are we to judge them?

But independent of that, who are we to try and cajole them into keeping an animal that is no longer wanted? Do we really think that by harassing someone into keeping a pet that that pet is going to get better care? Do we think that someone who is harangued into not taking their ferret to a shelter is going to play with that ferret? Make sure it has enough time out of the cage? Give it love, affection, and cuddle it every day?

Chances are the answers to these questions are going to be a resounding NO. That ferret is going to suffer, and now who's responsible? It's not just the person who wanted to give it up anymore. Now it's also everyone else's fault for not helping that ferret find a better forever home. Yes, ferrets can die of shelter shock brought on by the stress of abandonment and changed surroundings. But they can also die of untreated diseases, lack of fresh food & water, filthy living conditions, and many more things at the hands of unenthusiastic or indifferent ferret owners.

As an illustration of my point - one of ferrets, Sophie, is a rescue, rescued directly from a home, not a shelter. She was the pet of a 12 year old boy who desparately wanted a ferret...until he got her. Then he realized that ferrets took work, and he ignored her. For a YEAR. She lived in a tiny one level cage with no litterbox or even newspaper to go on. She lived in her own waste. She weighed a little less than a pound. She had almost daily diarrhea. She lived on bad food and bad treats. She was let out of her cage maybe once a month. She smelled horrible, and her nails had never been clipped. Now I don't know if this kid's mother ever tried to rehome Sophie before we took her, but I do know that Sophie wasn't wanted. If that woman had gone to a ferret forum, it's very likely that when she tried to find a new home for Sophie, there would have been many ferret people yelling at her about abandoning a ferret that, in essence, was already abandoned. The simple fact of the matter is if Sophie had stayed there she would have died, and no matter how good intentioned the forum people would have been, they would have done more harm than good.

So does this mean that I support the indiscriminate purchasing and abandoning of ferrets? Not at all - that couldn't be further from the truth. But I fully believe that ferrets are better off in a place that actually wants them - whether that be a private residence, a ferret shelter, or a foster home - than they are in a home that no longer cares about their wellbeing.



Today's Ferret Tip is simple - if your ferret starts exhibiting strange behavior, decreased appetite, strange symptoms, or anything like that - take it to a vet immediately. You see your ferret every day, and if you think something's off, chances are that you're right. Even if the ferret turns out to be ok, it's better to be safe than sorry.

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ferret, ferrets, Ferret Abandonment, Ferret Tips