Ferrets: The Pursuit of Excellence

[Ivan Seeking]

Highlights of the annual Ferret Buckeye Bash in Columbus, Ohio, as breeders and owners vie for prizes and bragging rights. The playful critters are judged on various traits, including temperament, bone structure and muscle mass. Directed by Mark Lewis.

http://www.pbs.org/includes/tvschedules/new/programinfopopup.html?display_format=ep_description&display_format=ep_description&supersite=stations&station=KOPB&display_feed=900&use_gmt=1&title_id=61553&display_date=2008-06-29&display_time=10:00

Since Turbo is a such a huge fan of ferrets, Tsu and I watched this.

My impression:
Ferret people are more pathetic than cat people! But they [the ferrets] do look like a blast.

 

[turbo]

Ferrets are TOO fun! They all want to play and interact. Turbo (the real Turbo, my avatar) loved ferret-bowling. He'd run up to me while I was working at the computer and act like he wanted me to pick him up and when I'd reach for him, he would play keep-away. Eventually, he'd let me catch him, and I'd grab him, flip him on his back and scale him across the living-room floor. He'd flip himself over and start churning his little legs until he could stop the slide and then he'd run back to me, play keep-away, etc, all over again. After about 15 minutes or so, he'd be tuckered out and then he'd run directly back to me (no keep-away) and I'd pick him up and hold him while he slept.

If you've never interacted with ferrets, you don't know what you're missing. Pound-for-pound, they are WAY smarter than cats or dogs and with their little hands, they can get into all kinds of trouble, opening drawers, cupboards, etc. Ferret-proofing a house is a high art, but I would never consider caging them - that would be a crime.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

In the show linked, which is quite entertaining, they interviewed a number of ferret owners. One of the most common themes was that of missing items such as shoes, underwear, socks... too funny! There was one woman who had written a song about owning ferrets, which threatened to be pathetically bad but was actually quite humorous. There is no doubt that these people absolutely love their ferrets. One woman even commented that as the kids moved out of the house, she replaced them with ferrets, but the ferrets are better because you can put them in a cage without getting arrested!

It was hiliarious and well worth the watch. And I would certainly entertain the notion of having ferrets were we not already maxed out in animals.

The show ends by tracking the activities at the national ferret show, in Ohio, which is the largest ferret competition in the country. And wow, people reeeeeally get into this. When their ferret wins a ribbon they are sooooo proud and happy.

The last screen of the show states the following:
327 ferrets were entered in the national competition.
400 awards were presented.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Btw, I noticed that ferrets are not only ticklish, but they also make a "laughing sound" much like that recorded at ultrasonic frequencies, when rats are tickled.

 

[turbo]

Oh, yeah! The name ferret comes from "furry thief" and they love to steal stuff and cache them. I can't tell you how many times, I'd have to look around quickly for innersoles, gloves, etc so I could get to work on time. One little guy was VERY good at opening the heavy bottom drawer in a particular stack of drawers. He would climb into that drawer, climb up the backs of the drawers to an upper drawer and steal plastic bags, and transport them to the top drawer to make a nice comfy bed in the silverware tray. Imagine toddling downstairs for your morning coffee, opening the silverware drawer to get a knife to butter your toast and looking at a yawning ferret giving you a "what are you doing here?" look.

 

[turbo]

Btw, I noticed that ferrets are not only ticklish, but they also make a "laughing sound" much like that recorded at ultrasonic frequencies, when rats are tickled.

Ferrets are ticklish, and they do giggle, and when they are excited, they make a sound like "dook, dook". When they are frustrated they will talk to themselves, too. they're pretty entertaining.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Damn you, Turbo, now I want a ferret.

 

[turbo]

If you get a ferret, it will bond with you immediately. If you get a couple of them or several of them, they bond more strongly with one another. Our third ferret was a little girl, no more than 1.5 lb at her top weight, and our 6th was a heavy-set boy, well over 3 lb. As our ferrets aged and fell to illnesses, they were the last two from that batch, and the younger heavier boy experienced a stroke and lost motor control of his left side. Hoping that he would recover, we tried to keep him comfortable and set up a pet carrier with a soft bed, water bottle, food, and litter facilities so he'd be comfortable. Jasmine was having none of it. When Bugsy woke up, Jas would prop him up by bracing against his left side and help him to the regular litter-box, then help him out to the kitchen where the regular food-dish and water-bottles were. She would wait until he had eaten and drunk, and then help him back to their sleeping place under the stereo before she tended to any of her own needs. She was a perfect little nurse and it brought tears to my eyes to see how well she treated Bugsy. Believe me, that little girl got some VERY special treatment from us.

 

[Tsu]

If you get a ferret, it will bond with you immediately. If you get a couple of them or several of them, they bond more strongly with one another. Our third ferret was a little girl, no more than 1.5 lb at her top weight, and our 6th was a heavy-set boy, well over 3 lb. As our ferrets aged and fell to illnesses, they were the last two from that batch, and the younger heavier boy experienced a stroke and lost motor control of his left side. Hoping that he would recover, we tried to keep him comfortable and set up a pet carrier with a soft bed, water bottle, food, and litter facilities so he'd be comfortable. Jasmine was having none of it. When Bugsy woke up, Jas would prop him up by bracing against his left side and help him to the regular litter-box, then help him out to the kitchen where the regular food-dish and water-bottles were. She would wait until he had eaten and drunk, and then help him back to their sleeping place under the stereo before she tended to any of her own needs. She was a perfect little nurse and it brought tears to my eyes to see how well she treated Bugsy. Believe me, that little girl got some VERY special treatment from us.

Wow! That's just amazing! Now I want one, too!