Post it here for free until October 2000. The common ferret differs from the polecat in the colour of its fur, which is usually yellowish white, and of its eyes, which are pinkish red.
Some common ferrets have brown-coloured coats, however.
The female ferret bears two broods of six or seven young each year. Domesticated ferrets have become so dependent upon humans that they cannot survive without care and if lost often die within a few days. Because common ferrets are subject to foot rot, their cages must be kept scrupulously clean. The animals subsist on a diet of water and meat that is similar to that given the domestic cat. Ferreting, the use of the ferret in driving rabbits, rats, and other vermin from their underground burrows, has been practiced since Roman times in Europe and even longer in Asia.