It's a Ferret Life

Local couple care for 13 ferrets

credit: Ewart Ball, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Joel and Karen Meadows share their home with 13 ferrets. They have nursed 23 of the animals back to health and turned their home into a ferret sanctuary.

ASHEVILLE — “It all started with Max,” says Karen Meadows, veterinary technician at Charlotte Street Animal Hospital. “He was an impulse buy. We went to the pet store to get cat food and left with a ferret.”

Max was only the beginning for Karen, and husband Joel’s, love for ferrets. Over the next seven years, they rescued 23 ferrets and turned their home into a ferret sanctuary.

“We usually get a lot of the ones from Super Pets that are more diseased and we try to nurse them back to health,” says Karen. “The shelter has us on speed dial and will call us before they have to put one down.”

The Meadows currently have 13 ferrets and let them free roam around the house and sleep in the master bedroom. Having so many ferrets meant they had to get creative and ferret-proof their home.

They have gates to block certain rooms, a tube that runs through the house that the ferrets use to navigate their way from room to room.

“They like to run through the blankets on the floor and they love anything that is like a tube,” says Joel Meadows. “We braided together dryer vent tubing for them to play in.”

Ferrets are playful animals that require a lot of work.

“They are definitely a lot of fun, but they are also very high maintenance,” Karen Meadows said.

“People should know what they are getting into.”

With that in mind, Karen suggests that owners research before purchasing a ferret.

“I highly recommend getting the book, ‘Ferrets for Dummies,’ and just going online and doing lots of research and knowing the facts about their lifespan, the diseases they get and things they are prone to,” she said.

“They have very specific nutritional requirements and health care and a lot to take into consideration.”

“Getting educated is huge,” Joel Meadows said. “You’ll go to the pet store and you think they know what’s going on and they have them in a big cage full of cider chippings, which gives them very bad respiratory problems.”

Cost is also a consideration.

“One of our books said that for every ferret, have $100 in the bank account for medical problems, but we’ve found that to be closer to $800,” Joel Meadows said.

The Meadows still think they ferrets are worth the challenge.

“They have such personality, they make me laugh every single day,” Karen Meadows said.

“If I’ve had a bad day at work, I can come home and look at them and they just make me smile and they make my heart melt. Their personalities, faithfulness and willingness to just interact with us, just makes it all worth it.”

Tips for buying a ferret

Veterinary technician Karen Meadows shares a few tips on what you should know before buying a ferret:

• Be aware of Adrenal disease. “Which is one that hits them really bad,” she said. “Forty five to fifty percent of ferrets have it, but if it’s caught early, it can be cured.”

• Ferrets get along well with other animals. “We have five cats and we don’t have any fighting or problems. They are very friendly and very adaptable,” she said.

• They have high reactions to vaccinations. “When you take them to the vet, make sure that they pre treat them with something like Benadryl first to ward off any reaction,” she said. “It’s a good idea to hang out at the vet’s office for 30 minutes after vaccinations.”

• Keep small gadgets in your home locked away. “Like rubber, small things that can become intestinal foreign bodies, like razors, even cheerios,” she said.

• “It‘s important to keep a clean living space for them, because they eat and go to the bathroom a lot,” she said.

• “I would recommend that people get at least two ferrets around the same age, because they can get lonely,” she said.

• “I do not recommend them for young children because they are so high maintenance,” she said. “They can be nibblers, and I think that one should be older before they start handling them, maybe around 12.”

• When it comes to emergencies, “you definitely want a thermometer and a nutritional supplement like a vitamin and some corn syrup for low blood sugar emergencies in case they crash. It can be caused by another disease or if they are having digestive problems. If you find them collapse it’s good to rub corn syrup on their gums and get them to a doctor. I recommend keeping some baby chicken food around, if they get sick and decide not to eat.”

Have questions for Karen Meadows about your Ferret? Contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or at Charlotte Street Animal Hospital at 232-0440.