Bad Situation For Any Pet :-*(

Question
I LOVE my ferret Boobs, I mean he is my life. I got him when he was a kit and we have a close bond but for some reason he acts like a monster at times. When I let him out he automatically and purposely runs to MY door and only my door and poops there, hes been litter trained for awhile and never goes to the bathroom anywhere outside of a litterbox except my door, I don't get it..what do you think?
He also has a problem with being a little mean to everyone but me in the house, he hisses at them and attacks them he won't stop I've tried everything out of all the books I've read about ferrets. Also, I'm only 16 and am working on getting a job (but no one seems to want to hire a girl with holes in her face and a mohawk..im growing my hair back tho and am willing to take out peircings) because my mom has stopped coming home from work most of the nights and never buys him the proper food for him or really any of our many pets, and I'm afraid the cheap cat food just won't cut it any longer, it pains me to feed him it, but my mom never leaves me money or takes me to Carson City to buy the food (i live in CA i know theyre illegal). It's getting to the point where me and my mother have boxed over the situation, its not only my ferret that suffers either but my iguana, cats, dogs, and cockatail. My only hope is to get a job and feed them myself..or find a new home for them. I hope i can get a job in time before any health problems arise..what do you think i should do? any alternative food that are healthy? i've heard some say mice and chicks are superb for ferrets, but others say they can make them wild and mean. ive got a diet problem and behavior problem can you help me? do you think they are related?
thank you for your time, and i understand if you dont have any answers for me.

Answer
Hi Danielle:

I'm SO sorry to hear all the problems you are having to live with right now. No teenager should have to deal with all that and have to worry about whether they can even feed there pets healthy foods.  It won't take long on bad food until those pets start needing expensive vet care and I bet she won't allow that either when the time comes. The worse their diet is, the quicker they will become sick and the sicker they will be. Ferrets MUST HAVE a very specialized high protein ferret-specific kibble.  

It's actually MUCH more frugal to buy good food for ferrets, cuz the vet bills are outrageous (or maybe she would just let them die and not take them to a vet).  If they eat unhealthy food, they get sick and when a ferret gets sick, the vet bills start piling up fast!  It sounds like two of your pets are exotic (iguana and ferret) and will need an exotics vet for them.  The iguana, no doubt, has special needs, as does the ferret. You can buy ferret food online at The Ferret Store or Ferret Depot - they have all the premium kibbles and MAY even have some Iguana items in a special category (?)  If not, I'm sure there are online stores for iguana items and food also.

Bless your heart....you are willing to try to get a job and support them and you're only 16.  That shows a lot more responsibility on your part than your mom is giving you.  Just know that if the word gets to the right people, you CAN be removed from the home on a moments notice and probably put in a foster home - you probably won't have any say so in it because of your age, unfortunately; if that happens, you will NOT have a chance to find homes for the pets.....they will just be left there to fend for themselves and MAY even get let loose outside! (death sentence for both the iguana AND the ferret)  This is one of the things that concerns me greatly.  

Right now I have a cat (and I've never had a cat before!)  because of a 15 yr old girl in a situation similar to yours was taking care of it and when her mom was busted for drugs and their house was raided, the cat got tossed out the door (he had never been outside before) and the kids taken to foster homes.  Months later, the neighbors were calling this girl to tell her that her cat was still sitting on the front porch, was skin and bones, waiting for her to come home :-(   Soooo SAD!!   We drove over to the house and lo and behold, there was that faithful, horribly skinny cat; it had been there, living on it's own for FIVE MONTHS.  Of course we brought it home with us, but things don't always turn out that well.  MANY pets who get left behind in bad situations end up getting hit by cars (this cat had a twin brother who was hit by a car according to neighbors).  The neighbors had been tossing dog food to it occasionally :-(, but it was sooo very skinny because dog food is NOT appropriate for cats, especially growing kittens!!   We have had that kitten/cat over a year now and he's a wonderful, awesome, smart and loyal cat  who seems more like a little person in a fur coat! LOL

Because your mom really is not supportive (her life sounds a bit out of control) and you are a minor under her control, I truly believe the best thing would be to find new homes for the pets while you still have say-so and can interview prospective adopters. Unfortunately, one of the worst places for a pet you love is a home that won't even provide for his/her basic needs.

With all that's going on at your house, I'm guessing that your ferret is not getting out to play as much as he would like to either....that's probably what he is 'protesting' when he poops in front of your bedroom door. It's the only way he has of filing a complaint and letting you know he is not happy with you.  I could, of course, be wrong.  If he used to be allowed in your room and is not allowed in there now, THAT would likely be the reason he's pooping in front of the door.  Do you see that all I can do is guess what kind of sitiuation may be causing your ferret emotional upset, but he IS upset and he is 'expressing himself' in front of your door.

You *could* feed your ferret Iams KITTEN chow - that is relatively cheap, but is the ONLY cat/kitten food and would provide him with the *basic* needs....the premium ferret foods would be *better*, but he can live on Iams.  The first ferrets I had, I didn't know better and I fed them Iams Kitten. They were sick a LOT (i.e. lots of vet bills) and didn't live to be very old.  The ferrets I have now have known nothing but premium ferret foods (Totally Ferret, Zupreem, 8 in 1 ULTIMATE (only, not their other foods), Marshalls, Mazuri, etc.

Most likely, your ferret won't eat mice or chicks unless he has been introduced to them early in his life - MOST LIKELY. You can try to feed them live or frozen "pinkies" (baby mice)...but if he has not imprinted on them early in his life, he won't even recognize them as food. Ferrets are that way.  I tried giving my ferrets some raw chicken when they were very young, because I heard it was good for them......one ran the other way, one sniffed it and gagged.  Cooked meat got the same reception.  Definitely not the reaction I was hoping for. I continued to offer them raw AND cooked meats and eggs over a period of time and finally just gave up - they just don't see it as food, but as something 'icky' that they don't even want in their cage.

The best food your ferret *should* have are the premium brands listed above; the worst diet you should settle for is Iams Kitten dry food (kibble).  Just know that your ferret will not be as healthy, especially as he ages; expect that he won't live as long as a ferret who is fed a higher quality food. Also, don't try to 'substitute' other foods like Cheerios, bread, cereal or dog food - that is even worse. If you can't feed your ferret a minimum of Iams Kitten, then you really DO need to rehome it.  I'm sure your ferret loves you and would miss you - same with your Iguana....I just think if you can't provide for their minimal nutritional needs, you really should find other homes....interview them and make SURE they either already have ferrets and know about them, OR they have read up on them and understand things like what ferretproofing is and how to do it, a ferret's nutritional needs (no sense in rehoming it if they are going to feed it crappy food too!), can afford vet care as needed - you'd be surprised how many ferrets die because they don't receive proper vet care!  It's really important that they have their 'well ferret checkups' because the vet can often recognize problems in its early stages. BUT, if you can't afford a vet (or mom won't allow it), that ferret isn't going to get proper care - part of which his *preventative* care (good nutrition, vet visits, vaccinations, etc).

I'm just so sorry about this whole mess - it sounds like you need more help than just rehoming ferrets is going to give you.  I would really like to see you rehome your pets and concentrate on taking care of YOURSELF.  There's a time in life for pets and it doesn't sound like this is that time for you right now.  My heart says that you need to be taking care of yourself.

Bless your heart. Wish I could be of more help. Of course, the decision is yours (unless the house gets raided).  What an awesome pet owner you are; I'm just not sure you need all that stress right now....or maybe just ONE pet - pick ONE to keep and rehome the rest?  Sometimes the best gift we can give our pets is the ability to have a happy life with someone who can meet their needs.

My thoughts and prayers will be with you - please keep me updated.  I'm very concerned about not only your ferret, but you, Danielle.

(((((((hugs)))))))

Jacquie Rodgers