anyone else have this problem with a ferret?

Question

We have two ferrets, both were fully litter trained when we bought them. The male always uses the litter box, the female will 90% of the time. She will deficate in the one of two corners in the living room periodically. She's annoyed at something, but I haven't been able to find out what. She will use the litter box (we used the same litter she was trained on) and will than romp for about five minutes and than she'll run to the corner to deficate. If we catch her and put her in the litter box she makes a show of going and than attempts to return to the corner. She doesn't always do this and it's sometimes weeks in between happenings. There haven't been any major changes in the environment, food or water. Any ideas? Or any ideas where I could get a look into the crazy pet's mind?

Forgot to add this in. Yeah the litter box is cleaned daily or every second day (depending on the box). And sometimes she'll perform her little act immediantly after the box has been changed. The other thing is that she seems to know she's doing wrong with the whole thing, because she seems to pick the corner (behind the couch or by the door depending on where we are and watching) that we're not specifically looking at.

Answer 1

it's really not that she's upset about something, its just that ferrets aren't as good about litter training as cats - it is VERY common for some of them to go outside their box when they're not in the cage. the boy i have now will not go outside his box in his cage and will run back to the cage to do his business when i have him out. my last one wasn't so particular. i had to put a litter box in every corner when he was out. the person above was right about their digestive tract - the metabolism of the ferret is so high they process their food much quicker than other animals, thus have to go more often. (it's also the reason why they should NEVER go more than a few hours without food; even to prep them for surgery they only get food withheld for no more than 4 hrs.) and since they have the attention span of lime jello, they don't always realize they need to go back to their cage to deficate - the first corner they see looks good to them.

as long as she acts fine otherwise and her poo looks normal (isn't green, mucousy or seedy-looking), i'd say she's probably a typical ferret. you got lucky with one that only uses his box, but not so lucky with the other one. it might be sporadic simply because she doesn't need to go as often that particular day. when you wake her to take her out of the cage, give her a few minutes to use the box - it should help with her needing to use it again while out. stop her halfway thru your play session and pop her back in her cage for a few minutes - she may realize that she needs to go and use it then. prevention is far easier with animals like this than correction.

Ferrets For Dummies is an excellent book for a ferret owner - it answers darn near every question you can think of with these little fuzz-busters.

Answer 2

Are you keeping the litter box clean? Some ferrets are very picky and won't use it if it isn't clean enough. Another thing, try adding another litter box to the room. She could just be getting so caught up in playing that she gets to the point that she has to go NOW and can't make it to the litter box. If the litter box isn't close enough, she'll just go to the nearest corner to do her business, so add another litter box or two to the room. Keep in mind, some ferrets just don't use the litter box 100% of the time. When she goes outside the box, show her the poop, tell her 'no,' and then put her in the litter box. When she uses the box, reward her with your words and/or a treat. Again, no matter what you do, they might not use the box 100% of the time. Good luck! =)

EDIT: Well, if you're keeping the box clean, then try adding a few more boxes to the room, especially to the corners she's going to.

You know, when my ferrets are out of the cage, they don't use their litter box every single time either and I swear they also know they're being bad when they don't use it! As soon as I see them going outside the box and they see me coming, they take off running (and it almost looks like they're smiling, too!). LOL. Anyway, I don't know what else to tell you. They just don't use the litter box all the time, for what reason, who knows. I sometimes think the little fuzzbutts are just testing us...

Answer 3

my ferret does that she is a girl to i also asked that qustion this is what she said
Do you let her run around the whole house or just one or a couple rooms? The more rooms she has access to, the more litter boxes you're going to need. At the very least, put one litter box in every room she has access to. They have very short digestive tracts and sometimes when they have to go, they have to go RIGHT AWAY and if there's no litter box in sight, she'll most likely go to the closest corner. Sometimes they can't hold it long enough to make it to the nearest litter box, so make sure you have several available.

Do you have her litter trained yet or have you not really tried? If she's not litter trained, here's a few things that might help:

Put some of her poop in the litter box and show it to her.

Watch her. If you notice her backing into a corner without a litter box, grab her and rush her as fast as you can to the nearest litter box. Some of it might plop on the ground on your way to the litter box (watch your step!), but if at least some of it makes it in the litter box, then reward her either with your words and/or a treat.

Pay attention to the corners she poops in the most and put litter boxes there.

When she uses the box, reward her with a treat and/or praise her. If she doesn't use the litter box, show her the poop, tell her 'No,' and then put her in the litter box.

Also, keep the litter boxes scooped and clean them out really good at least once a week - some ferrets can be very picky, if they don't find the box to be clean enough to their liking, then they won't use it.

Just be consistent, don't give up and don't get frustrated if she doesn't use the litter box 100% of the time. Sometimes they just can't make it in time or, for whatever reason, they just decide to not use it once in awhile. Good luck! =)

Answer 4

Having ferrets for 14 years and a total of 18 of them I can tell you first-hand that ferrets are never 100% litter boxed trained. While at times they appear to be doing exactly what you want they will have their times when they will use another area. I have had ferrets that used the litter box for the most part 100% of the time but as they aged their litter box habits became increasing worse.

And yes, ferrets will try and 'fake you out' when you put them in the litter box, they will actually 'pretend' to go and then leave! They are such smart little buggers!! LOLLOL

In time you will just give in and put papers or litter boxes in the areas that your ferret wants to use. I know I did. LOL

Also, most ferrets do not like the triangular type litter boxes, ferrets like litter boxes that are large enough form them to get into. I use rectangular, high back litter boxes and also some cat litter boxes, this seems to appeal to them more.

Anyway, don't think your ferrets are crazy or annoyed, they really are just being true to their nature!

Best wishes!

Answer 5

Take her to the vet. It may be a bladder issue or territory issue. The vet could tell you.

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Answer 6

she is a female!

fEmaLe RaBBIts, and CaVy FEmalES arE All LiKe THaT!