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[pmcd9]

Also at the store, a lady cut in front of me in line (when I was next up at the counter for god sake!)

This seems to be happening more frequently to me.  I just move right beside them, say excuse me and start doing my business with the clerk as if they weren't there.  Nobody has confronted me yet, but if they did I am prepared to tell them to wait their god damn turn.

[wombat]

I've had jobs where we had freezerfulls of rats and mice and rabbits.... but, meat is one thing. Frozen pets is... another.

[theinevitable]

I read a big interesting study (boiled down for such as newsweek) where they talked about how our brain's primitive understanding of germs was basically "don't put your food next to something gross." They talked about all these studies where this had weird results (people were reluctant to eat food that had touched an unused roll of toilet paper without understanding why, etc.)

[CortJstr]

I read a big interesting study (boiled down for such as newsweek) where they talked about how our brain's primitive understanding of germs was basically "don't put your food next to something gross." They talked about all these studies where this had weird results (people were reluctant to eat food that had touched an unused roll of toilet paper without understanding why, etc.)

It's not just that there are pets in the freezer, but creatures that died of diseases and whatnot next to my food, which is hopefully safe and clean.

[Nabubrush]

My mom kept our cat in the freezer one winter, with all the vittles. Just cause the ground was too frozen to inter it, you understand.

[Lister]

Only in your brain.

But... my brain is where the world happens.

Also: rodents are often nocturnal, which may be a factor to consider if you are a light sleeper.

[Turbo Ninja]

My mom is allergic to cats and dogs, so my childhood pets were reptile until we discovered that mom is not allergic to ferrets.

We got one when I was about eight years old, which snowballed through various circumstances into my mom running a ferret rescue from our house while I was in high school.  I think we had ten or twelve of them in the house at any given time from 1990-96 or so.  Mom's license plate was "FERRET" for several years.  I know a lot about them.

It is true that they smell.  The males are worse than the females, even after you get them descented.  Spaying/neutering early mitigates the stink but it never really goes away.

It is easy to train a ferret.  They can be taught to use a litter box, to do tricks, to respond to their name, etc. 

Early on, we gave them run of the house.  They'd seriously get into the smallest little spots (up inside the couch, into the waterproofing drainpipes in the basement) and they liked to steal stuff, especially if it smelled funny (I remember they had a grand old time with those rubber thumb-wrestler toys) or made noise (don't leave plastic grocery bags around or the ferrets will hoard them).  When we got a new couch, we tipped the old one up on end and a ton of stuff came falling out.  Squeaky toys, rubber balls, half-chewed rawhide sticks...the beasts are like magpies.

When we wanted to round them up, we had a little batter-powered toy that looked like a bunny.  We'd turn it on, it did this weird chirping sound, and the ferrets would come a-runnin' because there was a rabbit to kill.  They'd grab this thing by the neck and shake the hell out of it because that's what they've been bred to do.  Do not get a ferret near something it instinctively wants to hunt, unless you don't mind one of the two parties ending up dead or maimed.

Eventually they all ended up in a huge cage in the garage.  We'd get them out every now and then, give them some freedom to run on our screened porch, and clean up when they'd crap in the corner (they'd shit near the litterbox just as often as in it at the end there).  As fun as they were as companions and playmates, they aren't reallly lap pets because they're so active, and they haven't had the biting-is-playing instinct bred out of them yet so you'd get a bloody fingertip every now and then especially if you offered yourself up.

My $0.02: They're good pets for certain people.  If you have other small creatures around your house (guinea pigs, hamsters, cats, children), don't bring one home.  And don't buy them from pet stores or unlicensed breeders.  That encourages irresponsible behavior and you get an animal that is more likely to have health problems.  I guess that goes for almost any companion animal, but it bears saying.

[wombat]

Education.

[jaydub]

Education.

Verily.  I will, myself, surrender to ferret owning someday.  A friend of mine in college had two, and they were more fun than kittens on ecstasy.  They were both females, and smelled a little "beasty" but not an offensive reek.  Their fur was coarser than I was expecting, but they were handsome, graceful little things.  The best part was that they were so spontaneously funny though.  Constantly exploring, playing with their toys, their environment and each other.

[linnea]

Verily.  I will, myself, surrender to ferret owning someday.  A friend of mine in college had two, and they were more fun than kittens on ecstasy. 

That is very true. A guy that I knew in high school had 2 ferrets. Watching them play was the funnest thing ever. I had long hair at the time, down to my elbows (this was before I shaved my head). I was lying on the couch and my hair was hanging down to the floor, and the ferrets started playing in it, much like children playing in the sheets that have been hung on the laundry line. I have never laughed so hard in my life. They were so cute.

[Arachno-capitalist]

I saw the Ferret owner documentary tonight.
Jesus.
I am so glad you guys were here to prevent me from joining this cult.

"Since I have a freezer, I can freeze the dead ferrets. And we get a bulk discount when we cremate 25 pounds, so I save all the dead ferrets in the freezer until I have 25 pounds of ferret. My husband thinks its weird when I have more dead ferrets than food."

[wombat]

I never did go to a ferret show and I have not seen that documentary, but I did do a ferret story recently.

I have spoken to a lot of people who are fanatical about their animals in the past couple of years now. But the ferret people - who were very helpful and nice and even sent me a thank-you card - get the award for the craziest. I mean that in the nicest possible way but... yeah.

[Golfhaus]

"My husband thinks its weird when I have more dead ferrets than food."

Aren't those two the same thing, though?

[Bobby Isosceles]

I agree: get another guinea pig. There are two main reasons:

1) You already know how to care for a guinea pig and know that you like them. Don't let yourself get overextended on pets you may well not enjoy anyway.
2) You know that your cats get along with a guinea pig and that a guinea pig will get along well with another one. Ferrets are a wildcard.

You can also with some difficulty and the occasional fuckup litter train a guinea pig and let it roam around. Or you can use coroplast and cubes to create the best damn cage in the universe. With a big enough cage even multiple males will be friends. Cleanup can be a bit of a pain however.

[JorgeFabregas]

I like ferrets. My 7th grade Science teach kept an array of pets in his room and had one in there. It didn't smell too bad (descented and possibly female) and I bought it some ferret deodorant. Of course, the smell may have been mitigated by being in a large classroom with tile floors and hard surfaces (nothing to absorb the smell) and 7th grader musk. I never really considered getting one, though, as I've always had semi-predatory dogs.

Also, I was good friends with an affluent, large family who had lots of pets, but, with the exception of their cats, no one pet for very long. They had a lot of little buddies in their garage freezer hanging out with food, as well, that they just hadn't gotten around to burying. It did seem strange to me.

I recently inherited a betta from a coworker who was fired. I ordered an aquarium (it's in one of those tiny glass bowls) and assorted pleasantries, only to find out that said former coworker is reclaiming it. Which means that I get to go giraffe shopping, I guess.

That's all I have to say about that.