I am curious about the possibility of owning ferrets and rabbits in the same house

[rpuckett]

I have a bonded pair of rabbits whom I love to spoil. I have recently become interested in potentially owning one/possibly a pair of ferrets. Any time I develop an interest in something, I basically research it to death. I was kind of shocked when looking at the ferrets diet, with some people feeding raw/whole prey/live prey as well as others who just fed a kibble diet. But it seemed expressed that the raw diet was much better for them. Which based on my existing knowledge of dog/cat/rabbit foods, that isn't much of a stretch.

I also see information in some places that state that state even the smell of a ferret can stress a rabbit. My rabbits do not fear the dog or the cats (when we had them) so I'm sure at least a bit of that is based on rabbit personality and may vary.

Assuming the obvious, that I would never let my rabbits have contact with the ferret(s), would it be ethical to keep a prey animal with a predator animal in the same house? What about the same room? I wouldn't take another animal into my family without making sure that all pets, both new and existing without knowing that the well-being of all were considered.

So I guess I am just looking for opinions, whether you have owned one/both types of animal at a time, or really any other insight you all may have.

 

[holtzchick]

honestly I've had both at the same time and it ended horribly! I was always very careful but freak accidents happen If I could go back, I would never have gotten ferrets, they're a ton of work as well!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Dogs and cats are predators, and some cats do regularly hunt. Many people who have rabbits also have dogs or cats.
With Ferrets, I would not have them in a safe room for safety, but in the same house should be fine. With any animal, you do need to keep them safe and keeping them away from animals that could do them harm is best. Even with dogs and cats, not all are calm around rabbits, so may need to be kept apart. It's not fair to a rabbit to be constantly afraid of an animal and not fair to the predator to have temptation so close. With dogs, some have more of a prey instinct than others, so some can be fine around rabbits while others just want to kill them.

 

[rpuckett]

That is how I feel about it. If something was to happen to my babies, I could never forgive myself. And you can't blame the animal that acted, because that is just it's nature. In the example of my dogs and cats, when I am not home, they are in separate rooms/ separate floors of the house. If I was to get another animal that was a predator I would continue to follow that example, but I just don't know, I understand that ferrets can be quite wily, getting places you never intended them to have access to, not just in other cages, but places they can get injured as well.

 

[LakeCondo]

At the least, there should be 2 doors between where the 2 are. And of course only 1 should be open at a time. Doing this depends on how responsible the people in your home are, & visitors as well.

 

[whitelop]

Aren't ferrets pretty sneaky? They kind of creep me out. No offense to ferret owners. But after reading some things on what can happen when you have both animals at the same time, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't want to risk it or put my buns under that much stress.

 

[PaGal]

I have had ferrets in the past. My first contact with ferrets was a friends ferret. When they would come visit they would bring it and lock it in my one bathroom as there was nothing in there for it to get into. If they left it home it would tear up the place. I was against ferrets. Years later my sis had one, Pharoah. After being around him a few times when she decided he was not the pet for her I took him in. I absolutely loved him. He ran loose in one room except when I wasn't home then he was in a cage. Then I bought one I fell in love with at Petco. I named her Angel and she was one. The sweetest, gentlest animal I have ever known. After I lost Pharoah to cancer I bought another. It took me weeks to name her because every name I thought of was one I did not want my kids repeating. She was an Olympic athlete of ferrets and would run past at top speed and manage to bite you. She did get better over time. Scolding her did not work but picking her up, petting her and telling her I would love her till she was nice was too much punishment for her.

I believe someone on here once said they placed their bun in a carrier or cage their ferret had been in before after cleaning it well but the bun screamed. I do know in the wild that ferrets will attack rabbits. But I also know cats and dogs in the wild would as well. In this case though if I wanted ferrets I might have them but definitely in a separate room .I am a worrier and very responsible. But since I have kids if there is a chance a loose ferret could attack a bun then I would not get a ferret. I haven't read stories about anyone having the two come in contact.

The only thing I did not like about ferrets is that they never seem to be 100% litter trained and their poo isn't as easy to deal with as a buns.

 

[erinmoveit]

i thought that you had to feed ferrets kibble, i thought that if they ate meat they became aggressive? myth?

 

[PaGal]

Oops, I forgot about the Christian school. When my hubby got divorced him and the ex lived in different counties. He wanted shared custody but this was not possible with them living in different counties if they wanted to send the girls to public school. So they attended for a few years. Long story short they are now in public school and we have primary custody.

We did not have to attend the church. Everyone was very nice, I really did like all of their teachers and I'm not a big people person. It gave them a great start we believe. Made school a little more enjoyable if that makes sense. The girls were really more in the daycare for part of the time since they started at 3 years old (the youngest two).

Also, my kids both went to a preschool in a church and again we did not have to attend. No one at either place ever pressured us to attend. And I feel the same way about organized religion.

 

[rpuckett]

i thought that you had to feed ferrets kibble, i thought that if they ate meat they became aggressive? myth?

As I understood the information kibble was kind of the rabbit equivalent of feeding the cheap food with too much protein, not enough fiber, and all the "fun" treats in it. The animal liked it, but it often has corn or wheat or other additives that are hard on the carnivore digestion.

But, I am not an expert, so that is based on what I have read only.

 

[missyscove]

I'm a vet student and I live in a house with three other girls. My rabbits live in my bedroom in a dog crate when I'm not home and free roaming when I am. There are also 2 dogs in my house, both of whom have met the rabbits and are great with them, but are never left alone with them, and a ferret. The ferret, Sawyer, stays in his cage in my roommate's room when we're not home. He also gets free roam of her room every evening and also roams the kitchen/living room in the morning. He is very well trained and I've never seen hi bite anything other than his water bottles (he loves plastic that crinkles). The rabbits have seen the ferret through a fence and didn't seem too bothered by him. When Timmy (my previous bun) saw him through the gate, he thumped and ran away so clearly he recognized that he was a predator animal. Honestly, I think Sawyer would be fine with the rabbits if they were not afraid of him.

Yes, I know that ferrets aren't legal here, but he was adopted from a shelter in a state where he was legal and she couldn't really leave him behind.

Here's the adorable ferret in question:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNAC4Me9JZ0[/ame]

 

[erinmoveit]

I've always wanted one <3

 

[ldoerr]

Sawyer looks like a cross between my neighbors 2 ferrets Sneakers and Wooby. She also had rabbits but I am not sure if she had them at the same time. That neighbor kept her ferrits in a wire and wood hutch with a wire floor. She never took care of them or the rabbits. None of the animals (other than the dogs and cats) last more than 1 year at their house.

 

[cassnessxox]

I've been wondering the same thing. I have just started learning about ferrets in the course I am doing and next week I will ask a lot of questions. I know it has been done, where rabbit and ferret have been 'friends' but Im sure it would have to be done from birth or something like that. Since I have gotten my rabbits I never want there to be a time in my life where I don't have rabbits. But I also want to experience having a ferret so only after extensive research and super cautionary measures will I attempt it if I find enough evidence that it can be done.

 

[1357bunnylover]

It's a myth that feeding any meat eating animal raw meat will cause them to become aggressive.

 

[tonyshuman]

I am sure it can be done safely, depending on the ferret, the bun, and the owners. I do know that our neighbor's ferret got out once and walked down the stairs in the apartment building, then scratched on the door. We opened the door, picked up the ferret, and took it back to the neighbor. Later, when Tony (bun) was out, he smelled where the ferret had been and got really upset, like others have mentioned, thumping and running away terrified.

 

[Tauntz]

I'm a newby both here & as a bunny mom. But I am a lifelong animal/bird lover & caretaker. I have birds & wanted another furry family member but was concerned about safety issues so I researched each animal I thought would be a good family pet. One thing that continually kept coming up on my bird groups was how so many people had predator/prey pets together in the same house & even swore they never bothered the other when they allowed them out under supervision. Then sometime later they would come & say they had lost their beloved bird due to an accident with their predator pet. Accidents can still happen even with two animals of the same species, playing too hard or having a tiff so I personally decided I would not get a predator animal companion just to minimize the chance of an accident. Despite the best precautions it only takes a second for an accident to happen. I know from personal experience. I love my bunnies, yes they are different from dogs & cats but they fill that need I have to love a furry companion & still keep everyone as safe as possible. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts! Oh, if you do decide a ferret is a good match for you, I do urge you to do as one of the other posters mentioned make sure you have at least 2 doors between them at all times & think & rethink of every possible danger you can so that you can protect them as best you can.

 

[cassnessxox]

So Flemish Giants...would a ferret still attack a nice big rabbit? Only possiblity of safely having rabbits and ferrets?

 

[MiserySmith]

I think ferrets would still know a rabbit is a rabbit if it's large. It wouldn't be smart to have them together either way just due to the risk. I'd always always want multiple doors or cage doors between the animals.

 

[Tam O Ham]

I've seen ferrets attack cats easily twice their size so I doubt the rabbit's size would be a deterrent.