ferret will not litter train

Question
Hi there. I have a four year old male ferret, and I adopted him when he was a year old. The previous owner didn't let him run free much, and therefore didn't litter train him. I did when I got him, When I noticed him going to go to the bathroom somewhere I would pick him up and put him in his litter box. When he went in there I would give him treats. He picked up quick on this and was good for a while, but I find he goes through phases where he just doesn't care. He goes wherever. I tried doing the same thing over and over again, many different methods, and he just won't even try to use the litter box. I have to keep "training" him over and over again. It is very frustrating, inconvenient and embarrassing that this keeps happening. He will do this in other people's homes as well as our own when there are litter boxes available. Even the pet store employee at the store where he was purchased from said that he never used the cage litter box.He knows it's wrong, because as soon as I go to grab him, he runs away because he knows he will be put back in his cage. It's almost as if it's a defiance thing. We've lived in the same house for years, and I just don't understand why he is smart enough to catch onto everything else but not "don't poop and pee on the floor". please help. I love my ferret but his consistent problem is really getting on my nerves.I look forward to your response. thank you.

Answer
Hi Melissa,

Boy, do I feel your pain! It seems as though they wait for any opportunity to embarrass their mother! I laugh it off that way when it happens around guests!

There are so many things you can do but if I am going to tell the God's honest truth, I would tell you that even if you try everything in your arsenal and mine, you still may not ever get him to use the litter box all the time or even most of the time (sorry). I can only tell you what I've done, some times successful sometimes not.

Overall ferrets are like little kids, when they feel the urge to go it is RIGHT NOW, not in 10 minutes or 5 minutes or even 1 minute -- it's RIGHT NOW and they'll go wherever. I have some ferrets that will do exactly what you are talking about -- you put them in the litter box and they jump out and use the floor. I wish I knew why but alas, I am dumbfounded too! It could be that they don't like the way the litter feels on their feet, I don't know. Personally I use some pretty soft litter but I don't know what it feels like to ferret feet. I do know that I am not particularly fond of litter stuck to my feet and my feet are about 1,000 times bigger than the ferrets!

I guess I'll just tell you how my house is: I have litter boxes in almost EVERY corner of my house (I pick them up when non-animal people visit my house as well as put the ferrets up in their room). I have bath-type mats under all the litter boxes for the "beside the box" poops and such and in the areas that have heavy "beside the box" accidents I have water proof mattress pads or cloth medical style pads (they are about 2'x2' cloth on top and water proof material on bottom). I do all this because it is easier to pick up and wash mats and stuff than it is to constantly shampoo the carpet. I also use the mats because they are reusable and absorbent unlike newspaper (ferrets are more likely to shred and play with newspaper than poop on it, I have found).

I have had a couple of hundred ferrets pass through my house and I can honestly tell you that not one of them has ever been 100% litter trained and anyone who says their ferret(s) are are either lying, haven't found the hidden under the bed poop pile yet or keep their ferrets in a small cage 100% of the time. The best thing to do is just try the best you can (as you have been doing) and if its too embarrassing around friends, don't have him out around them, put him in another room. I definitely know how embarrassing it can be -- that's why I really only let animal people in the house theses days, I feel less stressed! Don't worry though, at least you just have one, I still have 13!

On a final note, make sure that he has a good check up by a ferret knowledgeable vet to rule out any medical conditions that would cause incontinence (I'm pretty sure that's not the problem but you want to rule that out).

Good luck and don't worry -- if that's the worst you have then great! Trust me, when he's ill or injured, etc. you won't give a rat's behind that he poops on the floor and when he's gone altogether you will wish you had not worried as much about it. You are doing a great job, enjoy him!

Have a great weekend!