Ferretville Blog

Ferrets are latrine animals and prefer to use specific areas for this purpose. Generally, a ferret will relieve himself within a few minutes of waking up. Being small predators, ferrets would be in the middle of the food chain in the wild, so their instinct is to find a sheltered corner as a latrine. This makes it possible to litter train a ferret with considerable success.

The ferret should have a litter box or paper placed in a corner near his nest or in his cage and be confined to the nest/litter area until after he has relieved himself. Afterwards, he can be released to play in the rest of the home, as he will not relieve himself again until after his next sleep. The size of the training area can slowly be expanded as the ferret learns to use a specific area, much like paper training a puppy. A litter box can be placed in a secluded, out-of-sight corner with a piece of furniture providing cover on the third side of the box. Place a litter box in each room for the ferret's use, and his natural preferences should guide him to it. The use of a fine, dust-free, clumping litter in a litter box or newspapers is suggested. Remember to clean up daily. 

The origin of ferrets as a domestic animal is unclear. Ferrets belong to the weasel family (Mustelidae) and are related to mink, skunks, weasels, otters and badgers. Ferrets are the only domestic subspecies in this family and they should not be confused with the Blackfooted Ferret, an endangered species which is only distantly related. Ferrets are dry temperate climate creatures - they have a summer and winter coat, tolerate cold well but suffer when temperatures exceed 20C, and have a breeding cycle attuned to the length of day. Their closest wild relatives, those with which they can interbreed, are the European polecat and the Steppe polecat, found in Eastern European forests southwards into the Balkans and the Caucasus. The ferret's ancestors likely were encouraged as residents around granaries somewhere in the southern range of these animals 2500 or more years ago and gradually were tamed for vermin control and hunting. Thus ferrets have been associated with man not as long as dogs, but perhaps as long as cats.