Fanciful ferrets

Jim Lombardi and his wife, Coleen, have been together for 21 years. In the beginning, in addition to being attracted to one another, their pets had an affinity for each other.

Jessica Peretti of Joliet holds her ferrets Kaga, Jaku and Nagi. Ferrets are easy to litterbox train and love human companionship, but they also have to have attention every day, says Peretti. LIZ WILKINSON ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Lombardi has owned King Neptune's Pet World in Shorewood for 27 years. When he first met Coleen, he sold her a marshal ferret.

"I sold her a female and I had a male and we put them together," Lombardi said. "The female was acting a little funny for a while."

And, soon, the female had 11 babies.

Lombardi bred ferrets for some time, but when his first ferret died, he stopped. But he still has a special place in his heart for the animals.

"They're a neat, small animal -- it's like half raccoon, half cat, half mink," he said.

'Attention every day'

"They have to have attention every day," said Jessica Peretti, a Joliet ferret owner.

And while ferrets are fun and inquisitive, that means they need a great deal of watching when they are out of their cages.

"You have to constantly be aware of what they're doing. You can't just leave them to get around your house," Peretti said.

Lombardi explained: "They're pack rats, they will take stuff," he said. "They like stuff that has your scent on it."

For Peretti, that meant her remote control was often stolen and hidden by her ferrets.

But while they do steal things, they do not tear them up like a dog or cat might, Lombardi said.

Curious critters

"They're extremely curious, and you have to learn how to react to the ferret," he said. "They're a nice pet, but they tend to like to hide."

Like cats and dogs, it is best to get a ferret when it is young, or a "kit."

Startup cost to own a ferret is not high.

First, because of their tendency to steal things, ferrets should have a cage, unless you are going to keep them in a ferret-proof room.