Ferrets got Out

A few nights ago, my ferrets got out. And I didn't realize they were out until it was close to midnight.

Its one thing when the ferrets are just out of their cage, scampering about the house and leaving presents for you to clean up in the corners, but this was something entirely different.

They got outside. Yikes.

Anybody who has ever owned a ferret knows that these little furballs are not like cats and dogs. They are strictly an indoor animal with good reason. They have no concept of self preservation, that and coupled with the fact that they average about 20 hours of sleep a day and have most of their hunting instincts bred out of them, well, they wouldn't survive perhaps more then three days outside on their own. I don't know where they went or what they were doing, but I just know the two little dookers found themselves outside.

I had to be at work at 7 the next morning and had to get some sleep, but I couldn't just leave them outside so I went about looking for them. No such luck. I got a little bell and tried to call them, but they remained hidden.

My next option was to find something soft and cuddly and familiar and try to draw them back to the house with that. I have this little bed I got for them that I sat near the door on the flower bed, hoping they would find themselves back with that. I then left and went to the back, looking for them and calling them again. Then I went back to the front after a couple of minutes and sure enough, Blaine was in the bed, staring at me and wondering how it got there.

I picked him up, nuzzled him and put him back in the cage, hoping that Abby wouldn't be to far behind. However, Abby still hadn't come home.

I put the carrier in the backyard with a familiar blanket in it and searched around the house some more. Still no sign of Abby, and now it was nearing 130 and I had to get to bed. So I left the door slightly ajar and fell to sleep next to the couch, hoping she would find her way home during the night and nuzzle me with her cold wet nose like she's prone to doing.

I woke myself up at 430 with the thought that I needed to check on Abby. The sun was just starting to rise, but there was still no sign of her. I checked the back and didn't see her there either. If she wasn't coming home, I didn't know what was expected of me so I went ahead and closed the door and started to fall asleep on the couch.

The scratching on the door got my attention, and not five minutes after I closed it, Abby had found her way home.

Stinky ferrets. I don't know what kind of adventures they had that night, but Abby was outside for six hours. I can only imagine that she found some place soft and cuddly and fell asleep.

I'll be sure they don't get out unsupervised again.