The Schubert Site: Stories about a sable ferret, a tabby cat, and a full and joyful life.
A gallery of adorable ferret pictures
When Schubert broke into our apartment
Why you should think twice before getting a ferret
The day Schubert caught a "mouse"
Schubert and the big red balloon
Got Milk? Schubert did.
Have you ever met a ferret that was crazy about milk? Schubert was so crazy about it that if I offered it to him, he would submerge his whole face, nose and all into the milk. He would pull his head out of the cup with a ferret-sized milk mustache all over his face. He would lick his nose, and shake his head, and try to go swimming in the milk again.
Chris and I were living in Raleigh in a quaint brick house when I was doing a lot of work from home. I used to give Schubert reign of the whole house when I was at home. I wandered into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee when I heard him scratching at the floor in the kitchen. I got out the milk to put in my coffee and called him over.
No Schubert arrived. On closer inspection, I discovered that he had somehow decided that the bottom of the cabinetry needed to be explored and had gotten under our old cabinets. The house was built in the 50's or 60's. The kitchen had never been remodeled. Unsure about where the crevices and passageways under our cabinets and sink could go, I began to panic. Thinking of mold, insects, spiders, rats, and any passages to the outdoors or our old central gas system, I knew Schubert had to get out of there soon. He stopped scratching. I whistled for him several times and heard him moving towards me, but he still wouldn't come out. I held a Bandit Ferret Treat out for him. He tried to take it from he but still didn't come out.
I realized Schubert had gotten through such a small opening that he was convinced that he couldn't get out the way he went in. He wanted to, and seemed to be trying (he did want that ferret treat) but for some reason he seemed to have forgotten that the way he went in was the best way out.
Resigned and angry, I did the only thing I could think of: I called Mom. She was over in about 30 minutes, and continued to brainstorm with me about how we could convince Schubert that he really could leave the same way he had gotten under the cabinets. We had a saucer of milk sitting outside the opening, and had shoved a yardstick under there with him, trying to push him towards the opening. Just when I feared that we were going to have to dismantle the kitchen cabinets, we managed to push Schubert out of the opening with the yardstick/milk strategy.
I really think something under there convinced him that he couldn't get out. He never tried going under there again, which is very unusual for a ferret since they are so curious by nature. And when he finally did come out, dusty and sneezing, he had a nice cold saucer of milk waiting for him. I think that helped.