General Information:
European polecats - previously referred to as a 'foul mart' due to their unpleasant scent - are considered to be the ancestor to the domestic ferret. They're from the same family (mustelids) and also have a very similar appearance to some ferret coat varieties.
Appearence may vary slightly depending on the subspecies.
One of the more common reasons individuals end up with a pet polecat is due to mistaken identity, they're often confused with ferrets, and some are ferret/polecat hybrids. There are slight anatomical differences between polecats and ferrets but often, the easiest way to tell them apart is their behaviour. Less commonly, polecats may hybridise with minks, but they're rarely kept in captivity.
Husbandry for the European polecat and hybrids is similar to ferret cousin's, but they do often present with more problematic or fiesty behaviour (not always, but frequently) as they're far more difficult to tame. In our experience, their bite (which most aren't afraid to use) packs a powerful punch (baring in mind they technically have larger teeth than minks) and they're most certainly not a pet for the faint-hearted. This is because ferrets have thousands of years of domestication on their side, whereas polecats have a lot less. We consider our relationships with our hybrids/polecats a relationship of both love and respect. Everything must be on their terms and anything else, you will need to adapt to work around their individual behaviour.
European polecats have an average lifespan of 6-14 years in captivity. They're nocturnal, solitary and carnivorous mustelids.
Care:
Housing/Enrichment:
We would house polecats/hybrids similarly to ferrets.
Just like ferrets, polecats/hybrids can be housed both indoors and outdoors.
Avoid housing around prey species such as rodents and rabbits. Ferrets are natural predators to most rodents; a polecat/hybrid's general scent can cause distress to prey animals.
Polecats are anatomically very similar to ferrets. They're known for their 'slinky' bodies. They have flexible spines and collapsable ribs that make it very easy for them to escape through spaces you wouldn't initially expect.
Ferrets, polecats, and hybrids can also easily chew out of wooden enclosures and some non-sturdy mesh such as chicken wire.
Outdoors:
You must ensure your outdoor enclosure is sturdy with a source of natural light. We would recommend a custom build insulated and metal-framed shed or an outbuilding.
We advise that their outdoor area is safe from extreme weather conditions.
It's important to note that polecats are preyed upon by foxes, so your outdoor enclosures must be fox proof.
Indoors:
Polecats can be kept in multistory metal ferret cages or a very large aviary with suitable bar-spacing. You will also need to secure an indoor space that your polecat/hybrids can roam. Most people will convert a room and ensure that your pet cannot injure themselves.
You must expect some damage to your home environment when keeping pets such as polecats. This comes with the territory of keeping polecats.
Polecats, like ferrets, are inquisitive and playful animals. Consider providing toys such as hammocks, tubes, digging boxes, treat puzzles, cat towers, shallow water, and ball pits. We must provide toys that allow polecats to express natural behaviours.
Litter training:
Polecats may be more stubborn to litter train than domestic ferrets, but it's still possible.
We would use the same tactics to train a polecat as we would with ferrets; patience and corner litter trays.
Socialising:
Although they're solitary by nature, some people keep polecats in mix-sexed neutered pairs.
You must neuter your polecats or hybrids regardless if they live alone. If you opt for castration or spaying as your method of neutering, we advise supporting this with a suprelorin implant to reduce the risk of adrenal disease. Alternatively, suprelorin implants can be used as a sole method of neutering in males, and the jill jab (progesterone) can be used with females also.
As with most mustelids, polecats breed in seasons. If you're spaying a female polecat, we advise you do this out of season. The breeding season of the European polecat is between March and May, but some individuals may be different, so it's imperative you lookout out for the signs that your female is in season.
You can neuter your polecats at around 6 months old.
Neutering may improve behaviour and odour. Please bare in mind, as we say, you cannot neuter the polecat out of a polecat hybrid.
Polecats are far more stubborn to tame and, as with most ferrets, can display nipping-behaviour.
Do not hurt or scare your polecat in an attempt to prevent unwanted behaviour, it will not work and is very cruel.
Diet:
In the wild, European polecats mostly consume small rodents, but they also eat rabbits, amphibians, and reptiles.
Polecats have been documented to paralyse their prey, only to store it whilst still alive until they wish to consume it at a later date.
Replicating their diet in captivity can be difficult. Most people will recommend feeding them a diet identical to that of a ferret, particularly if you have a ferret/polecat hybrid.
There are a few dietary options available for ferrets:
Health:
Similarly to ferrets, the European polecat can also catch distemper. Yearly vaccinations are the best way to protect your polecat.
What is CDV (canine distemper virus)?
Canine distemper is a fast-acting, often deadly, and a very contagious virus belonging to a class of viruses known as Morbillivirus; it's relative to measles.
CDV can affect the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, and central nervous system of the infected individual. The disease can be transmitted via direct contact with an infected animal and can spread through the air through becoming airborne.
Symptoms include:
The prognosis for CDV is very poor, and most diagnoses are made post-mortem. Treatment is extensive and oftentimes expensive. Your polecat will be admitted as an inpatient, and quarantined away from other animals. Fluids, antiviral agents, antibiotics and immunosuppressants are ordinarily used to treat CDV.
In canines, more than 50% of dogs will die within 2-12 weeks after treatment. Early treatment will promote a higher chance of recovery, but a full recovery isn't guaranteed.
Prevention will be the most effective way of reducing the chance of some health issues occurring.
Prevention Methods:
In the UK, de-scenting ferrets and polecats (removing anal glands) is not allowed as it is considered an unnecessary mutation.
Please feel free to ask more questions.
European polecats - previously referred to as a 'foul mart' due to their unpleasant scent - are considered to be the ancestor to the domestic ferret. They're from the same family (mustelids) and also have a very similar appearance to some ferret coat varieties.
Appearence may vary slightly depending on the subspecies.
One of the more common reasons individuals end up with a pet polecat is due to mistaken identity, they're often confused with ferrets, and some are ferret/polecat hybrids. There are slight anatomical differences between polecats and ferrets but often, the easiest way to tell them apart is their behaviour. Less commonly, polecats may hybridise with minks, but they're rarely kept in captivity.
Husbandry for the European polecat and hybrids is similar to ferret cousin's, but they do often present with more problematic or fiesty behaviour (not always, but frequently) as they're far more difficult to tame. In our experience, their bite (which most aren't afraid to use) packs a powerful punch (baring in mind they technically have larger teeth than minks) and they're most certainly not a pet for the faint-hearted. This is because ferrets have thousands of years of domestication on their side, whereas polecats have a lot less. We consider our relationships with our hybrids/polecats a relationship of both love and respect. Everything must be on their terms and anything else, you will need to adapt to work around their individual behaviour.
European polecats have an average lifespan of 6-14 years in captivity. They're nocturnal, solitary and carnivorous mustelids.
Care:
Housing/Enrichment:
We would house polecats/hybrids similarly to ferrets.
Just like ferrets, polecats/hybrids can be housed both indoors and outdoors.
Avoid housing around prey species such as rodents and rabbits. Ferrets are natural predators to most rodents; a polecat/hybrid's general scent can cause distress to prey animals.
Polecats are anatomically very similar to ferrets. They're known for their 'slinky' bodies. They have flexible spines and collapsable ribs that make it very easy for them to escape through spaces you wouldn't initially expect.
Ferrets, polecats, and hybrids can also easily chew out of wooden enclosures and some non-sturdy mesh such as chicken wire.
Outdoors:
You must ensure your outdoor enclosure is sturdy with a source of natural light. We would recommend a custom build insulated and metal-framed shed or an outbuilding.
We advise that their outdoor area is safe from extreme weather conditions.
It's important to note that polecats are preyed upon by foxes, so your outdoor enclosures must be fox proof.
Indoors:
Polecats can be kept in multistory metal ferret cages or a very large aviary with suitable bar-spacing. You will also need to secure an indoor space that your polecat/hybrids can roam. Most people will convert a room and ensure that your pet cannot injure themselves.
You must expect some damage to your home environment when keeping pets such as polecats. This comes with the territory of keeping polecats.
Polecats, like ferrets, are inquisitive and playful animals. Consider providing toys such as hammocks, tubes, digging boxes, treat puzzles, cat towers, shallow water, and ball pits. We must provide toys that allow polecats to express natural behaviours.
Litter training:
Polecats may be more stubborn to litter train than domestic ferrets, but it's still possible.
We would use the same tactics to train a polecat as we would with ferrets; patience and corner litter trays.
Socialising:
Although they're solitary by nature, some people keep polecats in mix-sexed neutered pairs.
You must neuter your polecats or hybrids regardless if they live alone. If you opt for castration or spaying as your method of neutering, we advise supporting this with a suprelorin implant to reduce the risk of adrenal disease. Alternatively, suprelorin implants can be used as a sole method of neutering in males, and the jill jab (progesterone) can be used with females also.
As with most mustelids, polecats breed in seasons. If you're spaying a female polecat, we advise you do this out of season. The breeding season of the European polecat is between March and May, but some individuals may be different, so it's imperative you lookout out for the signs that your female is in season.
You can neuter your polecats at around 6 months old.
Neutering may improve behaviour and odour. Please bare in mind, as we say, you cannot neuter the polecat out of a polecat hybrid.
Polecats are far more stubborn to tame and, as with most ferrets, can display nipping-behaviour.
Do not hurt or scare your polecat in an attempt to prevent unwanted behaviour, it will not work and is very cruel.
Diet:
In the wild, European polecats mostly consume small rodents, but they also eat rabbits, amphibians, and reptiles.
Polecats have been documented to paralyse their prey, only to store it whilst still alive until they wish to consume it at a later date.
Replicating their diet in captivity can be difficult. Most people will recommend feeding them a diet identical to that of a ferret, particularly if you have a ferret/polecat hybrid.
There are a few dietary options available for ferrets:
- Pellets: polecats can live well on a pellet diet, but very few diets marketed for ferrets are suitable, instead, opt for feline pellets. We use pellets in combination with a raw diet.
- Raw diet: A raw diet will offer your polecat the most natural diet, but you must be well versed in polecat nutrition. You must also be well aware of where your food comes from to prevent issues such as salmonella and botulism. A raw diet may include whole prey such as mice, rats, chicks, rabbits, and toads (your polecat will digest the entire animal, including their bones), cutoffs of meats usually sourced from butchers, and ready made raw food from companies such as Natures Menu and Dinner for Dogs. If you can provide your polecat with a safe and nutritious raw diet, then this is by far the most natural option. Generally, raw-diet proportions include 80% muscle, 10% bones, and 10% secreting organs.
- Adding in Cat Foods: Some people find adding suitable cat foods can be an easier alternative. Research the dietary proportions to ensure your polecat gets their dietary requirements. Don't feed dog foods.
Health:
- Canine Distemper Virus:
Similarly to ferrets, the European polecat can also catch distemper. Yearly vaccinations are the best way to protect your polecat.
What is CDV (canine distemper virus)?
Canine distemper is a fast-acting, often deadly, and a very contagious virus belonging to a class of viruses known as Morbillivirus; it's relative to measles.
CDV can affect the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, and central nervous system of the infected individual. The disease can be transmitted via direct contact with an infected animal and can spread through the air through becoming airborne.
Symptoms include:
- Sneezing
- Fever
- Chin and groin rash
- Reduced appetite
- Coughing
- Thick mucus and/or pus discharge from eyes and nose
- Lack of coordination
- Diarrhoea
- Seizures
- Vomiting
- Hardening and swelling of the skin along nose and footpads
- Brown crusty eyes
The prognosis for CDV is very poor, and most diagnoses are made post-mortem. Treatment is extensive and oftentimes expensive. Your polecat will be admitted as an inpatient, and quarantined away from other animals. Fluids, antiviral agents, antibiotics and immunosuppressants are ordinarily used to treat CDV.
In canines, more than 50% of dogs will die within 2-12 weeks after treatment. Early treatment will promote a higher chance of recovery, but a full recovery isn't guaranteed.
- Dentition:
Prevention will be the most effective way of reducing the chance of some health issues occurring.
Prevention Methods:
- Daily brushing with a soft-bristled toothbrush and carnivore toothpaste - we appeciate this is quite difficult with some European polecat personalities.
- Off license water additives
- Providing bones such as wings
- Topical cleansing gels
- Annual veterinary oral examinations and tooth cleaning
In the UK, de-scenting ferrets and polecats (removing anal glands) is not allowed as it is considered an unnecessary mutation.
Please feel free to ask more questions.
