Diary

Friday Ferretblogging: DingoFest ’07

You shoulda been there, man, it was epic.

(And no, they don’t hurt each other when they wrassle like that. They just squirm and squeak for show. If they truly get too into it, we separate them for a few minutes so they calm down.)

A.

9 thoughts on “Friday Ferretblogging: DingoFest ’07”

  1. Perhaps I can learn from your experience with ferrets and apply it to cats.
    There is such a fine line in determining whether an episode is play / dominance / aggression / aggression that has gone too far in my cats (and in dogs too for that matter) that I always feel that I’m guessing the situation rather than reading the situation. (For that matter, my tortie originally would scream bloody murder if I picked her up gently – she’s a diva and overplays her role with the male also).
    How do you tell that fine line? The video clip looked rather tame to me. Spurting blood is probably bad. What about in between?

  2. MapleStreet, with ferrets the easiest way to tell is to look at the tails. If they’re puffing up their tails it means they’re really, really, REALLY pissed. Even the first day they met, when they bugged each other badly, Puck and Riot never fluffed their tails at each other. And the very first night, they curled up together to go to sleep, so no matter how aggressive they got, I knew deep down they were compatible.
    Drawing blood is a big one, too, obviously. Bruising, plus there’s a difference in the noises, from the play-squeak you can hear on the vid to real, honest, oww-omg-ur-hurting-me chittering. I accidentally stepped on Fox’s tail once and I’ll never forget the shriek he gave me. He was fine, stayed out from underfoot after that, but it made me realize what to listen for.
    I usually only separate them if it gets really loud and it seems like one of them isn’t letting the other one up after a bit. Then it’s moved from play-fighting to an ass-kicking and they both get a time out. Puck can come in the office with me. Well, not now, because the office is covered in Christmas crap, but I’ll put them in separate rooms for a while till they chill out.
    It’s just knowing the animal and knowing what’s normal for them. Takes a while.
    A.

  6. I have a cat named Olivia who I really should have named Trinity, given her play behavior. Her favorite move is to attack by leaping up and forward while spinning a 180 (and sometimes nearly a 540) so she hits from above with both rear paws. If I could get it on video, I’d post it. It is srsly one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
    And MapleStreet, my experience with cats is that most of what they do is play. Even when I’ve had cats who don’t get along with each other, any altercations tended to be tame and fast and usually related to surprise–“OMG! Where’d U come from!? Feel my clawz!” There’d be squawks, and then cats bolting to opposite ends of the house with tails puffy. (In my cats, the puffy tail thing is more often from fear than from aggression. Apparently ferrets have no fear…)
    But I’ve never had cats who were *really* hateful to each other, so my experience may not be helpful.

  7. I wouldn’t know how to be a good pet owner. I enjoy the safe “window” you’ve provided for all your ferrets over time. (Safe for them… from me.) I’ve gotten thrills (and laughs) from all of your furry family’s antics. For that, I thank you. Please keep sharing, it may be vicarious but it’s also incredibly enjoyable!

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