Humans and ferrets, a special bond: How they became playful pets

Ferrets have long weaseled their way into many people’s hearts.
To the surprise of some, the small fury animals were domesticated centuries ago, and they can be great pets for people who live in small homes who are willing to give them the proper care. While not nearly as popular as cats and dogs, ferrets also love human attention and can do many of the same cute tricks. An American Veterinary Medical Association survey from 2021 found .1% of American households have pet ferrets. To put that in perspective, just under 45% of Americans have dogs while 26% have cats, according to the survey.
Across much of the U.S., ferrets at your local pet store are bred by mass breeding companies while many ferret owners also acquire their pets from private breeders.
Humans have long loved ferrets for their playfulness and intelligence. Thousands of years ago, people in ancient Mediterranean civilizations had ferret companions and they were kept as hunting companions in the Middle Ages, said Robin Landes, education director for the American Ferret Association.
“Ferrets are definitely not wild animals,” Landes told USA TODAY. “They’ve been around a while, people don’t understand that.”Landes, who owns three ferrets, said they’re mischievous and silly, and love playing with humans.
“They are the clowns in the clinic,” said Dana Varble, chief veterinary officer with the North American Veterinary Community.
“They love to get that reaction from people,” Varble said. “If you’re laughing at them, they know they’re entertaining you, they absolutely do.”
The animals can have bursts of energy, but they also sleep for many hours of the day, said Whitney Miller, Petco’s chief veterinarian.
“Just like little kids, they party hard and then they crash,” Miller told USA TODAY.
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Ferrets are most likely a domesticated version of the European polecat, a type of weasel, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Like badgers, otters and minks, ferrets fall under the weasel family − animals that hunt prey by tunneling their way into the ground. At a few U.S. zoos you may also see black-footed ferrets, which are endangered wild animals native to North America and not the same as the ferrets Americans keep as pets, Landes said.
“There are a lot of people who misunderstand ferrets, they are not in the rodent family,” said Landes, who got her first ferret in 1983 after seeing a “ball of fur” in a glass tank at a pet shop in the town of Winchester, Virginia.
Landes has kept ferrets since the 1980s and said her optimal number is three. A group of ferrets is called a business, Landes said.
“A business of ferrets − which I think is awesome because they are busy, crazy little animals who need interaction,” Landes said.
Humans have long enjoyed the company of ferrets, which were domesticated about 2,500 years ago, according to the FDA.
There are some famous examples of ferrets being depicted in art created hundreds of years ago, like the Leonardo Da Vinci painting “Lady with an Ermine” and a painting from the early 1300s known as “Women hunting rabbits with a ferret.”
After the U.S. was founded, humans kept ferrets across much of the American West in places where grain was stored to protect against rodents, according to the FDA. Some historians believe that ferrets bred for their pelts during the peak of the fur trade in the U.S. started being kept as pets because people liked their personalities so much, according to Miller.
Finally, in the 1980s and 90s, ferrets re-emerged as household pets for some in the U.S., the FDA says.
Like how some dog breeds become more and less popular over time, “I think there has been, off and on, a resurgence,” said Landes.
Among ferret owners, the slinky critters are known for tunneling into and between household surfaces, running through plastic tubes specifically made for them − called ferret freeways − and piling into mini hammocks together.
“Ferrets are great pets because a couple quick runs around the apartment is like taking a dog out for a walk,” Landes said.
Their high appetite for socializing “is something that can differentiate them from other small pets people can have,” Miller said.
Ferrets do have a noticeable musky odor, Varble said, but “some people don’t mind.”
“It’s a stronger smell, I don’t think it’s offensive, some people do find their smell a little bit offensive,” Varble said. For Landes, the smell is “musty” and importantly, can be managed by regularly washing the ferret’s bedding − they like to sleep with fleecy blankets. Cleaning the animal’s ears with a Q-tip also goes a long way, according to Landes.
Ferrets are highly social, and it’s recommended you buy two, so that they can keep each other company, according to major pet retailers like Petco. The animals do need to be kept in an enclosure, because they quickly get into all sorts of trouble if not supervised, like using their “dexterous” front paws to grab things around the house, Varble said.
“They are very prone to chewing on things and swallowing them,” Varble said, adding that worst case, a swallowed item will need to be surgically removed.
But they need plenty of time outside their cage too, because “they are so agile,” Miller said.
Unlike dogs, which can have some dairy and vegetables in their diets, ferrets are carnivores, meaning they just need meat and ferret kibble, which is made just from meat and protein. Many owners feed their ferrets kibble and raw meat, Landes said, but every owner has their preferences.
“You’ll laugh because what to feed ferrets is actually a huge debate in the ferret world,” Landes said. “Everybody has an opinion and everybody gets worked up.”
Landes said she feeds her ferrets, Lumikko, Borsen and Kai (all meaning ‘bear’ or ‘weasel’ in different languages) a mix of different kibbles and raw meat pet food that’s sold for dogs and cats.
Ferrets can live to be 10 years old, Varble said, but many of the ferrets she sees live around 4 to 6 years due to “intense breeding programs” that have limited genetic diversity.
To properly care for your ferret, regular veterinary appointments are a must, because the animals can develop certain cancers when they’re older, according to Varble, who said the diseases can be managed easily with therapies. The animals need many of the same vaccines as dogs and cats, and unfortunately, distemper is 100% fatal in ferrets, Varble said.
Proper diet and plenty of love and attention greatly enhance a ferret’s quality of life, said Landes, who believes the biggest misconception about ferrets is that they can live full-time in their cages, like some other small pets.
“They are not a caged animal,” Landes said. “They actually need a lot of human interaction and a lot of exercise.”