FEELING LONELY? BUY A FERRET!!!

Ananova Online ^ | 4/8/02 | Unknown

[scouse]

Ferret ownership 'growing among young women'

New research claims ferrets are becoming a hit with young, single women.

A study by two psychology experts from the University of Warwick shows owners of the mammals are as likely to be female as male.

The researchers believe the shift towards more young people remaining childless and single has led to the growing popularity of ferrets and rabbits.

Dr June McNicholas and Dr Glyn Collis, surveyed 142 male and female ferret owners across the Midlands. Most owners were aged 26-45, while more than 77% were childless.

Nearly all - 82% - had not owned ferrets before but were attracted to them as suitable pets for their lifestyle.

Dr McNicholas said: "I would hesitate to say that ferrets are becoming the ultimate yuppie pet, but neither is the average female ferret owner Compo in trousers. Ferrets are ideal companions for people with full-time jobs who may not be able to look after a dog or cat.

"They are ideal for people living in towns or cities in flats because they don't mind being caged and they can live in a relatively small space. People tend to buy them in pairs so they can keep each other company, and I think most owners see them as an interactive pet that likes to bounce around the house."Dr McNicholas said owners listed playfulness and intelligence as the characteristics which attracted them to ferrets.

She said the study found that women owners are more likely to see ferrets as affectionate pets, while males are more likely to regard them as multi-purpose working and pet animals.

All owners handled and played with their ferrets daily, with 68% allowing them time in the family house. Among first time ferret owners, 90% said they envisaged they would always keep ferrets.

Data studied from the British Houserabbit Society showed that more than 88% of the organisation's 3,000 members were adults, suggesting they were no longer seen as a pet for children.

[scouse]

Poachers use them to chase rabbits from their holes.

[aomagrat]

Damn weasels

[Dinsdale]

Ferrets are GROSS!!! They are nothing more than elongated skinny rats.

What next, squirrels as pets?

It all started with cats. Those creatures are vermin.

[geaux]

Believe it or not, my grandfather had a pet squirrel. I always thought if he would've shaved off that cute little tail, it would have been just another rat.

[Saundra Duffy]

Bad boy.

[CdMGuy]

Ferrets are illegal to posess in California. See folks, California isn't all that bad.

[scouse]

The missus and I departed La La Land, for Florida, eight years ago. Down here we don't need no steenkin' gyms we got golf courses and tennis courts. :^))

[Clemenza]

"California Uber Alles" indeed.

[Incorrigible]

Paging Freeper Ferret!

[RichInOC]

I know, but I had to ask.

[pabianice]

Why buy one? Just move-in with a Liberal.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

As guys on the construction site used to say "If they ever invent "it" in the can, the ditches will be full of "them." I thought it was pretty crude, but also a pretty funny saying.

[snowfox]

They get into.. EVERYTHING!

So do dogs, in my experience. If you want your stuff mostly left alone, get a cat. Or better yet, remain petless, which my choice. BTW, I have had a dog, cat ferret, and iguana. Frankly, I prefer life alone.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

that was funny.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Maybe you should email her this thread and let her know how you feel. :)

[widowithfoursons]

"How affectionate, actually?" My first reaction also. Ferrets need kitty litter, and have the brains of a rat with the body of a large hairy snail. They will poop on anything when out of the cage, and the litter must be changed daily. I cared for two of them that get farmed out to students at break times and weekends. YUCK!!!!

[Tennessee_Bob]

Saundra, here's your pictures...

YATTA BUMP!!! ;

[strela]

Yeeech. A ferret, in MY house? No way. They have a musky odor that has to be smelled to be believed. Its not quite in the skunk class, but it is awful enough. And as other posters have accurately noted, they poop pretty much wherever and whenever they please. My cousin had two live-in ferrets, and her house smelled like New Jersey all the time.

Ferrets (and prairie dogs for that matter) ARE cute critters, but I feel about them the same way I feel about children; "As long as they're somebody else's and not mine."

[lowbridge]

Ferret? What? No pig?

Why a pig? Why-a no chicken?