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Post by aurra on Oct 10, 2019 17:36:19 GMT -5
I was just wondering if cats and ferrets always get along. I understand some older rescue cats might not because those ones are used to a certain lifestyle. Im wondering about kittens. I'm not getting one but I was just wondering. Maybe sometime next year I would look into adopting a little guy. I can't find anything that was a bad experience. Also are there any breeds of cats that would be better or worse? A friend has a bangle and I absolutely love him but I feel like that kind of cat would hunt a ferret.
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Post by caitmonster on Oct 10, 2019 19:49:07 GMT -5
Depends on the personalities of each... however kittens under 4 months should not be around ferrets, which can injure or kill them. Some ferrets hunt cats, sometimes the cats hunt the ferrets or else simply run away from them. Other times, yes they can get along great. I don't know anything more than that in regards to breeds, sorry! There's more discussion here: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/7071/cats-ferrets
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Post by Sherry on Oct 11, 2019 9:10:53 GMT -5
Definitely keep kitten away until older if possible. Not worth the risk.
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Post by unclejoe on Oct 13, 2019 19:26:55 GMT -5
In my experience, the ferrets become a pain to the kats. I've never had a kat become overly aggressive to the ferts, but they rarely play together. Their styles of play are different. Also, I've had mostly female kats, and they've mellowed relatively young. In the wild, ferrets cane take out a rabbit 2-3 times its size.
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Post by Heather on Oct 16, 2019 14:31:15 GMT -5
I can say honestly....I no longer keep cats. Why? Because ferrets are mean little shites and generally speaking do not understand boundaries. One of my most expensive surgeries was an emergency surgery to repair the damage caused by a cat claw to a ferret. I also had the same cat blind that same ferret about 6 months down the road. Why? because the ferret just didn't know when to say enough. I've even had my mildest mannered ferret annoy the cats to the point they were going to pin his ears to his arse. Did I allow it...no, but unless you've got a separate room for your ferrets and for your cats (and that's no way to keep animals) interaction occurs. If you're going to keep cats and ferrets, make sure your cats are older than 4 months of age and can get out of and away from the ferrets. If you have senior cats, who's mobility is impaired or eyesight is poor then allow them a separate living space from the ferrets. Ferrets are cruel and it's in their nature to hunt. That's what they do to cats. The action of becoming prey, is not looked upon well by cats and causes them stress. That being said, there are cats and ferrets who get along well. I have some beautiful, sweet pics of my ferrets sleeping with the cats...it's the play that's the issue ciao
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Post by Charlie on Oct 17, 2019 19:32:55 GMT -5
I know my ferret always ran up to the cat and tried to get her to engage in play and the cat wanted nothing to do with it. She wasn't exactly a friendly cat either. He would even walk around her trying to get her to run, which she did, and then he would chase her. She was able to jump up on high things to get away. I don't have the cat anymore. The people I originally got the cat from wanted her back because the daughter with the allergies moved out. That worked out well because otherwise I would still have her.
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Post by unclejoe on Oct 20, 2019 20:40:20 GMT -5
Just to add, I have had 5 kats co-existing with over 2 dozen ferrets over the years, and there has never been a real fight, but kats have sizw advantage those deadly claws. If there is any question, you have to protect the ferrets and keep them apart. Dar's first ferret nipped her rottie in p,at, and it caught the dog by surprise, and it was over like that. The dog had never been aggressive to the fert before.
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Post by aurra on Oct 22, 2019 15:03:37 GMT -5
Thanks for all these stories. I went from having a snuggle dog to ferrets. I love them to death and will do anything for them but they don't snuggle well. I miss the comfort of a fuzzy face sleeping on me. I won't be getting a cat and will just stick with my 3 minute snuggles.
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Post by peacexlovexpets on Oct 22, 2019 18:57:54 GMT -5
If it means anything, I have a 55lbs dog that was over 1yr old (not socialized to cats) before I got ferrets (each over 2yrs old and not socialized to dogs) and was able to transition them together to the extent that they are extremely civil/well behaved around each other. I still wouldn't leave an unsupervised dog/cat out with a ferret, but as long as you take your time and transition the animals appropriately, you should be able to train them how to behave around each other.
I adopted two ferret kits shortly after the dog was trained on the older ferrets and one of them sticks to the dogs side like glue/cuddles and tugs/attempts to wrestle him, whilst the other kit wants nothing to do with the dog/will hiss at him if he steps too close to her, so it does depend on the pet's personality on how they handle each other.
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