Ferret fanciers are a rare breed, so think carefully before you get a ferret

I'm sure it takes a special type of person to love and care for ferrets. I was just reading an article from a Seattle newspaper which featured the efforts of a husband and wife who opened their island home to ferrets, turning it into Ferret Shelter Northwest, home to 14 rescued ferrets.

According to that article, there are almost 2 million pet ferrets in the U.S., which isn't a really big number when compared to dogs (74.8 million) and cats (90 million). But the problem with ferrets, according to the article, is that ferrets tend to be "impulse" pets, bought from pet shops by intrigued or curious people -- who soon realize they have neither the time nor inclination to give the little creatures proper care and attention.

At that point, the ferrets become "disposable" and often are abandoned, generally because there are few places to take them for continued care and attention.

So think long and hard about the matter before you decide to purchase a ferret for your household. They're novel, but they require much more care and attention than cats, hamsters, or gerbils, I would suspect.

Technorati Tags: ferrets, ferret shelters, abandoned ferrets, for pets and pet lovers