They are stocky animals with broad heads and short legs. Their front feet are not webbed. They have four sharp-clawed toes and a small thumb on each front foot. Their large hind feet are partially webbed, with stiff hairs along the toes. Their tails measure 7 to 11 inches long.
Muskrats get their name from the pair of musk glands located at the base of their tails.
These glands are used during the breeding season when musk is secreted on logs or other areas around houses, bank dens or trails on the bank to mark the area. Muskrats are found throughout Kentucky wherever appropriate habitat is found. Appropriate habitat for muskrats is almost anywhere they can find a year-round supply of food and water. Muskrats spend most of their lives in aquatic habitats, such as ditches, streams, marshes, lakes, beaver ponds, mine pits, farm ponds or any wetland area. Ideally, the water should be two to three feet deep.