A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper: Clooney the Ferret

Have you ever just known?
There is a local pet store in our little town - a mom and pop shop. They have pocket pet critters - you know - gerbils, bunnies, a few fish and ferrets. They are conveniently located right next door to my grocery store. Needless to say - I visit my friends - both 2 legged and 4 legged often. Ferrets often cycled through the store - I would come in and visit, get them out to play, put them back in their cage and not think much about it.....other than the fact that I thought it would be much fun to have a ferret. One day in April I followed my old routine and visited only to find the most adorable, perfect, sweet ferret ever. I knew the second I took him out of the cage he must come home with me. I told Jean - the pet store lady not to let anyone near my ferret - I would be back for him once I had convinced the hubby. Well - that was easier said than done and thankfully the demand for ferrets wasn't all that high. My husband should have known when I came home from the pet store and informed him that Clooney was there that he didn't have a fighting chance - I mean really - I had named a pet that wasn't even mine yet. I visited him every day and after 3 weeks finally the green light. That's how Clooney came to be a part of the family and he has kept us laughing since day one. Yes - he is named after George Clooney - but actually he is much cuter than George ever dreamed of being.

I have read many horror stories about ferrets - how they can be mean, bite, cause damage to your stuff and put a dent in your pocketbook by getting into endless trouble resulting in vet visits. I can dispute all of these - none are true in our case. Clooney is such a social and sweet animal. He loves us and other people and is not fearful of strangers at all. As for biting - I am his primary caregiver and he never, ever bites me - ever. He does occasionally bite my husband - this occurs after much excitement and rough play and even then is rarely too hard. On those rare occasions when he gets a little exuberant - we have to break out the N word (ummm yes - that would be Naughty - what kind of ferret do you think I am raising?). When you use the word naughty the world has ended - ferret boy flops down and pouts - his heart broken. As for damage to your stuff - the critter does love some Velcro - I have caught him nibbling on a pair of shoes but in the grand scheme of things - not much to report here. He will steal your stuff - all kinds of stuff - hats, anything in a bag, candy, cereal bars, soap, keys - little things, shiny things, things that make noise. He hides these things in crazy spots as well - and never the same spot twice. As for vet visits.....other than the regular check ups - 2 extracurricular activities. The first was diagnosed as a dietary indiscretion - in layman's terms ferrets should not eat red licorice. The second was actually a bite he received from the late wonder kitty Isabel - he was chasing her and she bit him right on the tail. As for denting the pocketbook - pet insurance, people!

So - a bit about Clooney's world - he loves his siblings. It fascinates me that he changes his approach to interfacing with the cats to match their demeanor - all boy, rough and tumble with Oliver and slow and easy when dealing with Miss Crankypants Zoey. He loves the dog. He loves the hedgehog too but he is just a bit exuberant yet. He does visit frequently - watching Nigel play in his cage and he likes to lay on Nigel's blankets. His days are full of four main components - sleep (up to 18 hours a day sometimes), play with other critters, food and attention from his humans. Not a bad life if you ask me. He loves getting treats - they make these rawhide sticks for ferrets - a daily favorite. He also (thankfully) thinks his supplement he needs every day is a treat as well. He is supposedly a carnivore in the wild - he has no interest in any kind of meat - raw, cooked, nothing..... He does like some people foods - peanut butter (creamy not chunky), Fig Newtons (word to the wise - only let him have a tiny bit of the cookie part - the fig part - well you can imagine the effect). He also LOVES honey. This treat is reserved for when he has a hairball (yes they get them too) or a snuffy nose as it has some healing properties. You have to be careful as ferret diabetes is very common. I have created a monster when it comes to drive through cups - he loves to lick the ice when you are done - he is rather impatient while you get to done and he has no problem flipping over your full drink to assist in getting to done quicker. He has a stuffed cow - a cat toy he found somewhere in the pile of a zillion cat toys on his first day here. He hoards it in his latest and greatest spot and occasionally you see him streaking down the hallway with his little cow in his mouth. He also loves making the bed - it is his absolute favorite thing to help with and its hilarious - I will try to capture a video of this some time and post it.