Please read through all the sections on this page before you submit an application.
Motor City Ferrets will adopt to southeast Michigan residents who are 21+. Prospective adopters must come to the shelter to adopt - we will not ship our ferrets, nor will we "pass them along" to a home. We also do not allow our ferrets to be given as "gifts," either for adults, or most especially for children. If a child in the home wants a ferret, understand that the ferret must become the family pet, and all family members must be on board with the decision to adopt.
Our adoption fee of $100 per ferret includes up to date vaccinations and a recent vet checkup. We’ll send you home with two weeks of our house chow, so you can transition your ferret over to the food you choose to feed, any records we have for the ferret, and if they’ve come to favor a certain type of toy or bed, we’ll include something from the shelter that will smell familiar to them straight away, as they transition to their new life in your home.
For our critters with health troubles or behavioral issues, adoptions are handled on a case-by-case basis. Because every critter deserves a loving, permanent home, no matter their age, health or social troubles, our special needs critters are placed into our foster program, which ensures a permanent home for the ferret and support for the owner. If you're the type of person who finds it as rewarding as we do to take on an extra special critter, consider our foster program!
Thinking About Adding a Ferret to Your Family
If you're completely new to ferrets, we recommend the book "Ferrets for Dummies" as the absolute best resource for anyone interested in ferrets. Not only is it a delightful read for the whole family, most of the book truly is required learning for anyone interested in ferrets.
Once you’ve decided that a ferret is right for your family, what sort of ferret would be the best fit for you?
- Bachelor/Bachelorette: These critters don't care for other ferrets, so they need a home where they can be the center of attention. If you're the type of person who likes to come home after work and settle down for the night, a bachelor or bachelorette might be the best choice for you.
Considerations: If you'd like to add more ferrets, a single would need separate housing and playtime apart from other ferrets.
- Swinging Single: A ferret that’s been social and has lived with others, but is not bonded with any other particular ferret. Lots of variety in this group: not all swingers will get along with all others, but if you already have one or more ferrets and are looking to add one to your business, this is the type of critter for you.
Considerations: Swingers are social and have lived with others; therefore, they must be adopted into a home which already has a ferret friend to pal around with. We’ll determine compatibility through a meet and greet.
- Bonded Pairs: critters that have been together for their whole life and cannot be separated. These critters love each other, but will not accept future playmates.
Considerations: if the family wishes to add additional ferrets in the future, separate housing and playtimes would be necessary. And eventually, one of the pair will pass, leaving you with a bonafide single who will need lots of your attention to keep life interesting once they’re on their own.
- Unbonded Pairs: For most first time owners, we actually recommend a pair, as most ferrets are happiest with a buddy. Two ferrets aren't much more "work," and a pair can help keep one another happy as new ferret parents learn how to accommodate their critter’s needs.
Considerations: Your options will be open to adding more ferrets, either soon or well down the road, with a social pair.
Costs of Keeping Your Ferret Healthy & Happy
When we discuss the cost of taking on a ferret during adoption visits, we're often surprised by how some folks will brush off the topic. Unfortunately, due to the incredibly high cost of vet care these days, keeping ferrets has become a luxury for most Americans. To properly prepare for a new pet, one must consider many factors and the costs involved should be given weight along with the rest of the planning issues. While it’s impossible to account for all the costs you might face over the lifetime of any pet, below we do our best to give you some idea of what you might be in for.
Housing
Cages are optional, but if you choose to not use a cage, you’ll want to have a room in your home fully ferret proofed and setup to accommodate your ferret’s needs. These days the best cage on the market is the Ferret Nation. A single nation can house 1-4 ferrets, while the double can house up to 10. $250-$300
Must have accessories would be a water bottle or bowl, food bowl, litter box (or several), and bedding such as a hammocks and sleepsacks, and toys and amusements. We estimate the base cost for these items to be around $100. Many toys can be found or made, such as bags and boxes, and other amusements you find that will work for your ferrets.
Food & Supplements, Cleaning Supplies
Food: You’ll need to provide your ferret with premium quality food. Ferrets need a high protein, high fat diet, so lower quality foods are not appropriate. We actually use premium kitten food in the shelter, as the quality is on par or superior to top quality ferret branded foods.
Supplements: it’s always a good idea to help your ferret appreciate a supplemental food source. The two we always reach for are Nutrical (or Nutristat) and plain chicken baby food. Given frequently as a treat, these are what you can immediately reach for should your ferret ever stop eating their regular food on a regular schedule, for whatever reason.
Litter: personal preference more than ferret appreciation. You’ll want to use a pellet litter, never clay or scooping cat litter types. We use hardwood pellets, found in many hardware stores for use in wood stoves. Wood or newspaper pellet litter is inexpensive.
Cleaning Supplies: Household cleaning products are fine to use to clean up your ferret’s areas. We do find ourselves reaching for baby wipes daily, whether to wash ferret feet (the part of the ferret that gets dirty stepping in the litter box), or to wipe up accidents.
Monthly cost of food, supplements, litter, and cleaning products: $50-150
Medical Care
Annual
Each year you should take your ferret in for an exam, and to update their vaccinations for rabies and canine distemper. The rabies shot is required by Michigan law. If your ferret is not vaccinated and bites someone, the State will kill your pet to test for rabies. Canine distemper travels around Michigan each year, and is nearly always fatal for our ferrets, so the distemper vaccine is important to include. Annual exam and shots: $100-200
Expected
In any ferret’s lifetime, it’s a good idea to plan for some vet costs that won’t apply to everyone, but are common enough to save for.
Dental cleaning / extractions: buckle up for this one, friends. These days you should expect to pay $600-$1200 for what used to be a quick, relatively inexpensive procedure for our ferrets. Of course you should keep up with keeping your ferret’s teeth clean, but since genetics play such a role in dental health, we never know when our ferrets will need professional cleaning or extractions.
Suprelorin implants: adrenal disease is so common that you should plan for your ferret to have at least one implant in their lifetime, if not more than one. These days most vets will charge $250-400 for an implant, given annually, or once or twice in a lifetime.
Diagnosis and treatment of insulinoma: the second most common ferret ailment, you should plan on your ferret developing insulinoma. Typically you’ll notice symptoms, take your ferret in for an exam, have a blood test in office, and receive supportive medication. While the process can be more involved and thus cost more, if things go according to the simple plan you might pay $150-250.
Unexpected and Emergency
Bladder Stones, broken bones, difficult to pin down intestinal system troubles, the emergence of cancer, and many other mysteries may befall your ferret, and when such things happen these days the vet costs can skyrocket. It’s not at all uncommon for ferret parents to spend $1000 trying to figure out what’s wrong with their ailing ferret. To be prepared for such less common costs, your best plan is to have a relationship with a well experienced ferret vet, as well as a savings fund that you regularly contribute to.
Conclusion
As you can see, the overwhelming cost of keeping a pet ferret healthy and happy these days is veterinary care. After considering some of the vet costs you might encounter, you’ll no doubt understand why we counsel everyone interested in adding a ferret to their lives to not only have at least $1000 in savings available immediately, but also that they regularly add to their pet savings. A bit of proper planning before you bring your pet ferret home will ensure you enjoy a happy life together, in which you will be able to provide for your ferret’s needs across the board.
Facts About Ferrets in the Shelter System
- Ferrets do not come to shelters because of behavior problems. Ferrets are surrendered to shelters for the same reasons as other pets. Owners may move to a new apartment where pets aren't allowed, experience a change in work schedule that doesn't leave enough time in the day to take proper care of the ferret, or the most common reason: owners simply get tired of the ferret. Most times the ferret simply wasn't wanted anymore in the former home.
- Most ferrets come to shelters already spayed or neutered. Michigan pet shops are required to only sell altered ferrets.
- Ferrets are people oriented vs. person oriented. Unlike dogs and cats, who may develop a relationship with only one human in life, ferrets are able to bond with many humans over the course of their lifetime. While changing from home/to shelter/to new home can be stressful for some, most ferrets need only a short adjustment period to find happiness in a new home.
- Ferrets are very social. Not only do ferrets like people, but most enjoy the company of other ferrets, dogs and cats. Because of their rough style of play and perhaps a bit of instinct from the days of old when they were wild critters hunting for food, ferrets should not mingle with rodents, birds and other small critters.
- Ferrets are adoptable at any age. While ferrets adopt a certain amount of routine in their home, they can adapt to big changes; in fact, because of their curious nature, change within their home is often a good thing!
- Ferrets are safe as pets. Trained properly, ferrets will not bite - even under extreme conditions. Baby ferrets must be taught what the boundaries are; once established a ferret is a safe household pet. Of course abused and severely neglected animals of all types can bite out of frustration and fear; a reputable shelter will a) work with these ferrets to rehabilitate them and b) never foist a ferret with a behavior problem on an unsuspecting new owner. According to statistics compiled by the New York Department of Health over a ten year period, you are 17 times more likely to be bitten by a human than a ferret!
- Ferrets are not a rabies threat. IMRAB, to protect against rabies, was approved for use in ferrets in 1990 by the US Department of Agriculture. Vaccination for rabies is required by Michigan law, although the chances of a ferret contracting rabies are very small - there have in fact been only 13 documented cases of rabies in ferrets since 1958.
Never in recorded US history has a human contracted rabies from a ferret!
- Ferrets are indoor pets. While ferrets may enjoy going outside for a walk or to play in the snow (always on a leash!), ferrets are indoor pets and should not be kept outside. Because ferrets are entirely domestic and housebound in this country, they do not constitute a stray animal problem. Plus, there are no colonies of feral domestic ferrets anywhere in the United Sates. The closest wild relative is the endangered North American Black-footed Ferret, a nocturnal mustelid which was once thought to be extinct and is currently severely endangered.
- Ferrets are quiet and clean animals. They do not bark, howl, scream, squeak or otherwise offend; rather they have an adorable chittering sound that usually gets louder with an increase in excitement level. Ferrets do not require much grooming; an owner need only trim nails and clean ears weekly, or the occasional bath if the ferret gets dirty. Ferrets do require reminders/remedial training to keep using a litter pan and many have been known to redecorate their cages with wild abandon and glee, but for the most part the small size of the ferret makes keeping simple for owners.
- Ferrets do not stink. Ferrets smell like ferrets, just as dogs smell like dogs and cats smell like cats. Neutered ferrets do not have the heavy musky smell than an intact ferret will have. Properly kept (in a clean environment with proper food, litter and frequently washed bedding), ferrets have only a faint musky odor that many owners appreciate.