Newbie about ferret

[amynadia]

Hello everyone. Newbie just checked in. I signed up this forum so that I can learn about this little cute creatures called ferret. Their behavior and personalities might be totally different and I need to learn a new thing. I have few cats at home, and I really wonder if ferret can really blend well with the cats. By the way, sorry if my English is not good because English is not my native language. I hope I can learn something here before planning to get the ferret as the 2nd pets. Thank you so much.

[Sherry]

Hi and welcome Some do, some don't. I actually worry more about the ferrets hurting the cats rather than the other way around. As long as kitties are old enough to jump up and get away generally they are okay together.

[unclejoe]

Hello. I've had cats (5) for years with ferrets, and the only cat that we worried about was a kitten when we got him and was raised with ferrets. He was pretty "high strung," meaning very active. He never actually hurt a ferret, but he was getting too agressive so we re-homed him. Al of the female cats have been ok with ferrets. Our current one was a year old when we got her, and she actually plays with the ferts.

[Charlie]

My ferret would just circle the cat and wait for the cat to run so he could chase it. But every ferret and cat are different. My cat would just jump up onto something high so the ferret couldn't get her.

Welcome to the forum!

[abbeytheferret6]

Hi amd welcome to the forum

[Heather]

Do ferrets get along with cats.....good question with no good answer. Not young kittens, they're prey and they're just not coordinated enough to get out of the way. Some ferrets always look as cats as prey. I have some such ferrets, hence no more kitties. It's just safer. Sherry mentioned she worries more about her cats, I had to worry about my ferrets. Evil Black Kitty, Merlyn cost me a lot in vet bills. I had to have my one boy get surgery to get his tongue stitched back together. Strangely enough he didn't learn from that experience and took it on himself do have a high vendetta...which cost him an eye. Ferrets are horrible for hunting kitties, most of the time the kitties just get out of the way. The idea is to offer escape routes to high ground...unfortunately, my ferrets climb and are very good at it. Most ferrets look at it as a game, some look at it as a passion, hunting stalking and attacking. Damage to either party can be critical. Cats have a much thinner skin than a ferret. Ferrets have crushing jaws with razor teeth. Cats have claws and teeth....ferrets do not respect anyone's space. Many have cats live side by side in some sort of peace treaty with the occasional skirmishes that are quickly settled with nothing other than a few clumps of fur missing. In this house, cats run serious risks, so my choice was to not have cats.
ciao

[Tasha]

I have 6 ferrets and 3 cats and I always keep them separated unless they are supervised. My 2 older cats could care less about them and just walk away if they don’t want to interact but my younger cat can be super mean. I honestly can’t tell if she’s trying to play and is too rough or if she’s just being mean. She usually chases them and gives them a swat on the head, no one has ever gotten hurt but I would really only recommend it if they are able to grow up together and know boundaries

[tinyzoo5]

It really just depends in all honesty. There is no right or wrong answer. We had a group of 7 kittens that I was fostering when my four year old let the ferrets out of their cage. Two of them tried to hurt the kittens, but one got very protective and defended them. When I finally got them separated the one didn't want to leave his babies. I had to bring him back to them everyday so he would eat. The mom cat just loved him to pieces too.
So again it really just depends on your ferret and your cat.