Andy Dingley wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 03:17:23 +0100, "Dave Baker"
wrote:

I had her spayed immediately as Google said female ferrets left in season
for too long can get very ill or even die

I believe they can literally explode from frustration. Some of this
explains the cross-over with Goths keeping them as pets...

When you had her spayed, did the vet remove the scent (sic) glands too ?

Absolutely not!!! The anal glands, which they can (but very rarely do) empty
when very scared in much the same way as a skunk, make no difference to
their normal smell at all. This is a completely unnecessary surgical
procedure with no benefit to either the animal or its owner and no
responsible vet or owner should ever contemplate an unnecessary surgical
procedure.

This is common practice in the USA where they're a "house pet", but
still rare in the UK where they're thought of as outdoor hunting
critters. My friend over the road is American and wasn't aware of this -
until her English ferrets were so obviously whiffier (to say the least!)
than she was used to in the USA.

I much prefer cats. But if I had to live with an indoor ferret, it would
be getting de-stinked.

There is nothing you can do to 'de-stink' a ferret other than neuter it
which removes 90% of the musky smell that un-neutered animals have because
of the hormones and pheromones they produce. Entire males smell very
strongly and entire females are quite whiffy but not so bad. Once neutered
both sexes have very little smell. More than a cat for sure but not
unpleasant to most owners. Verity was quite stinky when I found her but
hardly smells at all now she's been neutered. Cleaning and replacing their
bedding regularly is essential because the body oils get onto the bedding
and then back onto the animal even if it keeps itself clean. Bathing the
animal itself too often is actually very bad because it dries out the skin
and induces it to produce more oils again which then makes the smell worse.

As for American vets and pet owners the less said the better. They also
commonly perform other barbaric surgical procedures such as declawing cats
and ferrets which is illegal in the UK and many other countries and
massively impairs the animal's ability to walk, climb or defend itself if
needed. Any vet or pet owner that performs an unnecessary or harmful
surgical procedure on an animal should at the very least be banned from
keeping animals for life. Personally I'd put them up against a wall and
shoot them. I care very little what humans do to each other but anyone who
knowingly harms or mistreats an animal in their care is a waste of oxygen
and needs removing from the planet without delay.
--
Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines (www.pumaracing.co.uk)