Two Ferrets - One passed away

Question
Hi, I recently had to put down one of my ferrets. I had a male and female, now just the female. My question is how I can keep the female most comfortable? The male passed away 3/8. She seems to be doing fairly well. She is smelling everything and I know she did that before but seems more now? Is she trying to find him?  Since my fiance has a house of his own and a cat I brought her to his house because he has a cat, I thought I'd see if they might get along well.. They are actually seem to be having a great time together, eating food and treats together...I'm thinking this may be helping? or is it a bad idea that I'm bringing my ferret from one house to another and back? She seems to have fun both places? She is eating extremely well - always taking treats and eating food almost more than normal? I've heard that is one thing to watch for, eating habits. But that seems good.  I have already decided that I will not be getting any more ferrets, so that is not an option for me. I've had these little guys for 6 1/2 years and am ready to start a family of my own soon - as you know ferrets are a TON of work - at this point in my life I cannot get any more.
Can you please suggest some things to do and not to do during these first few weeks without her cagemate that she's had her whole life? what are signs that she's depressed or unhappy?
One last question - when she's around the cat she makes these noises..now I know what the hissing noise is because she makes that noise when she steals my socks and carries them under the bed :) - but it's a different noise and I'm not sure what to make of it? Could it be the "dooking" noise I'm reading about meaning she's happy and having a good time? Or could that mean she's afraid? it doesn't seem she's afraid moreso the cat runs from her most of the time...sorry so long of a explanation but I have a lot of unanswered questions and no one to ask!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! I appreciate it more than you know!

Crystal :)

Answer
Hello, thank you for picking me to answer your question as I am fairly new to this. But I am extremely sorry to hear one of your babies died, I can't imagine how hard that must be for you and your little girl ferret right now. You gave me a lot of questions and I will try to answer them all as best as I can. To make her most comfortable I would suggest spending extra time with her, petting her, giving her a few extra treats here and there, and if she likes walks take her out on excursions. To me it is obvious she is trying to figure out where he went, she might not even know he is *gone* yet for good, thus she is searching a little. I have heard over and over that ferrets become extremely bonded to each other, and if one passes the other can get sick even unto death. So keep an eye on her especially these next few weeks. You say she seems to be doing well, which I'm glad to hear, but I suspect she will notice his absence sooner or later and then you'll know something is wrong.

A depressed ferret is easily noticed, the complete opposite of what you're used to seeing. If she stops showing interest in even leaving her cage when you open  the door, lays around a lot, sleeps almost all  the time, eats little/drinks little, has diarrhea, shows undo aggression toward you or the cat, I would say she is then depressed/and or starting to get sick. If the behavior continues more than a couple days I would rush her to the vet,  because by then she may be in danger of dying. But so far so good. I am glad she is getting along with the cat, if you can keep them as buddies that may be a good substitute for her lost friend. You say you don't want a 2nd ferret again, but I would strongly suggest another ferret for her, (since she's had one all her life) especially if the cat doesn't work out as a buddy. For now I would say wait and see. I would hope her and the cat can make a new bond, I've seen ferrets bonding to almost anything! And I don't think it's a bad idea to get her out of the house with the bad memories, keep her interested in new things and life. And as for the noises...ferrets make weird noises, I have one who is VERY vocal and it doesn't mean anything, he just likes to talk a lot. I'm sure you can tell when your babies have been in pain or frightened, so if she's not making any of those noises you should be ok. The cat running away from the ferret is a good sign :). Most cats (and even dogs) don't know what to make of ferrets. But do continue to let them play together supervised. The ferret is probably very curious about the feline and vice versa, so that could be what all the noises are about. But please reconsider getting a 2nd ferret in the future, in my experience once you have one ferret the maintenance is about the same as two anyway, and double worth the fun :). Hope I've helped, any more questions feel free to ask.

~sheila