pole cats

[nora1985]

i have a pole cat have had him since he was about 6 weeks old best thing i have ever got but he has started to bit and dont know why as he is the most loving polecat ever and was wondering how i can get him to stop and i was wondering if its because he has his manly bits and it might be his hornons but i did give him a bit of chocolate that might be the reason

advise needed

[welshlibranr]

nora, sorry know nothing about pole cats. but am also sure that chocolate is not good for them!....try to feed the right food for him!....and never reward the bad behaviour with chocolate just to stop him biting!.....maybe castration could help too!...........

[RATTER15]

Why are you giving chocolate to a ferret? what is his staple diet?

[Prudie]

batty idea

[237SJ]

As a carnivore, you shouldn`t be giving him chocolate. He needs to be eating protein. Maybe he just needs to be out catching prey and not cooped up. Ferrets get frustrated when they are caged.

[RATTER15]

I used to do ferret rescue and also had up to 50 of my own ferrets, I showed and judged ferrets all over the south west and only ever got bitten once and that was my own fault and it was one of my own ferrets.

Delightful creatures :)

[237SJ]

When I lived in North Devon we had ferret races in our village. How exciting was that?

[Prudie]

Pole cats strictly speaking are the wild creature that the domesticated ferret descends from. Is it really a wild pole cat you have?

[tamborine]

Never feed it from your hand as it will smell your hand as food & bite. Always feed it from a container. Wear protective gloves while training it not to bite. When it bites, grab it by the scruff above neck & blow at its nose, then hold it close till it calms down. Keep doing this till you're certain its safe to handle without gloves.

They rarely become docile or domesticated & should be caged rather than free run of a home, as they're very mischievous & may chew electric cables if unsupervised.

[boxtops]

How old is it now, then, nora?

[237SJ]

Well I`ve never handled a ferret without gloves. My Dad used to go out ferreting and I never saw him wearing gloves either.

[237SJ]

*with gloves*

[starone]

Pole cats are wild animals and should be left in the wild. Of course they will bite, it is their natural inclination to bite, what do you expect from a wild animal.

[RATTER15]

(Tambo) >>They rarely become docile or domesticated & should be caged rather than free run of a home, as they're very mischievous & may chew electric cables if unsupervised.<< Soo wrong!!
Ferrets will always use the same spot for a toilet and they domesticate very easily. You should never wear gloves when handling a ferret and never punish a ferret for biting. I always fed my ferrets from my hand and would never put gloves on to handle a ferret, they make excellent pets and will run around the home just like a cat and get up to as much mischief. In the USA ferrets are a common household pet and a lot of people here also keep them as household pets.

[RATTER15]

[RATTER15]

loads of good stuff on you tube about ferret biting help, just remember not to punish it.

[nora1985]

hi everyone thanks for the great advise he is nearly one and we have figured out what was the problem and ratter15 that video clip was really helpful and it was not deliberate he got the chocolate and its not as if he has it every day it was a accident iam not perfect everone makes mistakes and he is a lot better now as he just plays all the time got him some toys so he can nibble on them he just wanted toplay lol and yes i can safly say my polecat is on a healthy diet as i get my food from a local pet shop for polecats (ferrits) and as for waring gloves i will not be doing that as i have handdled him since he was 6 weeks old and i have never had a problemwhen getting him out off cage or off the floor or anyother time but i do appresiate all comments thanks x

[RATTER15]

Good on you Nora, have a great time with a great pet :)