# Talk:European polecat

Where on earth did that etymological blather come from?  The Middle English polcat (literal translation: pole cat), is a compound of two common Middle English words: pol, meaning pole, and cat, and meaning cat.  See also the Middle English polheved (literal translation: pole head) for tadpole, and tadpole is itself also a Middle English compound or tad (toad) and pol (pole).  There is no mystery about the origins of 'polcat', as even a cursory glance at the Middle English Dictionary (or any other dictionary) will show.

Where on earth did that etymological blather come from?Someone hasn't read the reference it seems [1]. Mariomassone (talk) 11:16, 10 July 2025 (UTC)

Can European polecats spray an odor, like skunks?

Given that domestic ferrets can, I'd be surprised if their European ancestors couldn't.  Note, though, that ferrets cannot spray their musk very far, and unlike that of the skunk, the odour dissipates within a few minutes. Psychonaut 17:07, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I have 6 pet ferrets, and they don't stink at all!!

It's definitely noticable though, if you've been on the smelly end, and indoors.
Domestic ferrets often have their musk glands removed, so that could account for the lack of a smell.2600:1015:B111:BCFC:FDDE:CD6B:51BB:283C (talk) 22:39, 27 January 2018 (UTC)
In Europe it is prohibited to remove the musk glands unless medical indication - and even then vets are reluctant and will try a differend approach first. My personal experience with having ferrets since about a decade inclines in long-haired and brighter colored specimen barely "bomb", while roans do it on a regular basis - usually while using the litter-box. If your ferret does not empty the musk glands it's highly recommended to check every now and then whether they are tangible and swollen - if yes they NEED to be emptied, otherwise severe infections can occur. Mostly it is enough if the owner massages the glands gently and the next time the ferret reliefs itself the scat is going to be very stinky - if the odour gets a "fishy"-component, though, there might be already an infection, and the ferret should see a vet. 2.201.255.33 (talk) 11:35, 30 April 2024 (UTC)
Yes, all mustelids can, though the effectiveness on a predator varies. Some don't use their musk in defense, only for communication.61.230.79.242 04:19, 24 June 2006 (UTC)
Their name in French is putois, which more or less means "the one who stinks". I cartoons, skunk is generally translated as putois. I think it is pretty self explenatory.
--Arskoul 07:03, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

I am going to take out the line referring to the Berber polecat (M.p. berberii) as being a debated ancestor of M.p. furo.  While I acknowledge this information can be obscure, there is no reference provided and when I conducted a search through Google, Google Scholar, Ebsco, ScienceDirect and Web of Science I could find no reference to the Berber polecat being an identified species, let alone a debated ancestor of the ferret.  The only place I could find reference to the Berber polecat was on web pages that were citing this wiki article.  If someone has a reference proving the existence of the Berber polecat and it's relation to the ferret, that would be great and we can add the Berber back in. wagors 16:54, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

From the Danish description of this image, these are polecats at a zoo in Denmark (despite the English description "ferrets"). Here is a page from the zoo in question showing the polecat. --Cam 16:02, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

I thought a polecat was a slang word for a skunk, I remember one episode of Garfield and Friends where they went to a dude ranch called Polecat Ranch or something and Garfield or John or somebody didn't know what a polecat was and than a skunk showed up and everybody freaked out.
"Polecat" is sometimes used in America as a slang term for a skunk, but that's definitely not the same thing as this.72.104.210.70 (talk) 18:28, 27 January 2018 (UTC)

I wanted to make a wikiproject about ferrets and weasels but it became to small a range so i have made a bigger wikiprojects including all animals in the Musteloidea super family which include both ferrets and weasels and much similar animals. Support would be appreceated.
This new wikiproject includes the European Polecat
you can find it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Proposals#Weasels
i also made a little template for the project,

I hope you like it.
This wikiproject is for the superfamily of Musteloidea which currently and surprisingly does not have an article yet. This superfamily includes ferrets and weasels and all of our other furry little weasel like friends. Please put your name on it so this article could have it's very own wikiproject outside of wikiproject animals.
Teh Ferret 19:56, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

I have photographed these animals, and I have yet to come across one wearing a mask. Perhaps these are only worn by the ones that are outlaws?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.25.80.55 (talk) 15:26, 4 July 2010 (UTC) 

This review is transcluded from Talk:European polecat/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Reviewer: LittleJerry (talk · contribs) 18:55, 4 May 2012 (UTC)
Looks good overall, but there are problems I have:

is a species of mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa, which is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern due to its wide range and large numbers The IUCN status should be moved to the end of the lead. This wording doesn't sound right.
In size and proportions, the ferret is similar to the European polecat... I think something like "The ferret and European polecat are similar in both size and portions..."
The general appearance of the European polecat is typical of members of the genus Mustela, though it is generally more compact in conformation... I'd replace one of the "generals"
and, although short-legged, is not as elongated in body as the European mink or steppe polecat I would say that it "has a less elongated body then".
In Britain, the European polecat was regarded as a serious poultry predator prior to the introduction of wire netting, therefore eliminating it was considered the only option to reduce depredations. I think "for protection" is more suitable for wikipedia.
Compared to other endangered British mammals, such as otters and badgers is it accurrate to stay otters and badgers are "endangered" in Britian?
LittleJerry (talk) 18:55, 4 May 2012 (UTC)
1. Well written?:

Prose quality: 
Manual of Style compliance: 
2. Factually accurate and verifiable?:

References to sources: 
Citations to reliable sources, where required: 
No original research: 
3. Broad in coverage?:

Major aspects: 
Focused: 
4. Reflects a neutral point of view?:

Fair representation without bias: 
5. Reasonably stable?

No edit wars, etc. (Vandalism does not count against GA): 
6. Illustrated by images, when possible and appropriate?:

Images are copyright tagged, and non-free images have fair use rationales: 
Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions: 
LittleJerry (talk) 14:59, 6 May 2012 (UTC)

How is this supposed to be a good article, when the only reference to its famous scent is in the section about ferrets, where it's stated that ferrets hardly make use of the scent glands (which ones, when they aren't mentioned earlier in the article)?
And the section about polecats in culture should mention it too, as they have a prominent role in many European cultures because of the smell.-2A00:1028:83CC:42D2:847D:BB43:6CAB:9D9 (talk) 01:49, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

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In my opinion, the information regarding behaviour from the 'Behaviour and ecology' section should be merged with the 'Behaviour' section then I think a separate tab should be created for ecology as in my opinion it looks strange seeing 2 tabs relating to behaviour. Xboxsponge15 (talk) 20:36, 22 January 2023 (UTC)

This comes from somebody who adopted (unknowingly) a Polecat-Ferret-Hybrid: 
F1 hybrids will have a love/hate-relationship with humans even when they are socialized during the critical age. With patience they will accept one human in their life, they may learn to tolerate one or two other humans, but they will stay distrustful, even fearful, of anyone else. They want social interaction with "their" human, but are deeply unsettled if regular visitors come by (which is why it's often recommended to build an outdoor-enclosure for the hybrid), and though they will go into hiding first, if not locked away they will start attacking the intruders and actually cause bleeding wounds if they can. It is possible to re-home a F1 hybrid, but the new caretaker will need a lot of time, blood and patience to bond with the animal. Also: if more than one person cares for the hybrid, the hybrid chooses the bond-mate. I know a F1 which chose a 7-year old girl (usually an age at which children are not able to handle even normal ferrets properly), and while her father could pick up the animal and was allowed to feed it, he still got bitten - the girl never was even nipped.
Despite their aggressive nature towards (most) humans, F1 hybrids bond well with dogs and especially cats - though I would never recommend it, it IS possible to have only a F1 and cats instead of a business of ferrets without the F1 dispaying behavioural problems (as long as the human bond-mate also interacts a lot with the animal), and only if the F1 either already grew up with cats or was introduced e.g. to a litter of kittens and their mother at a very young age.
Compared to a normal domestic ferret, F1 hybrids are highly cunning and intelligent - they sleep less than the average ferret, are bored easily, and if left "alone" (read: with other ferrets) in an outdoor-enclosure they will "reprimand" their "chosen human companion" with bites for feeling neglected. That usually leads to the viscious circle of the human not wanting to interact with the hybrid, the hybrid getting more "aggressive" and so on... Unfortunately, the hybrid tends to be nocturnal rather than dawn-and-dusk-active, which makes timing the "bonding hours" difficult for the average human.
However - if you manage to bond with an F1 hybrid you will have more than a pet: you have a companion. It sounds un-scientific, but you will have more of a "Solo-Chewbacca"-relationship than a "human and pet"-thing. Granted: you will have to make even more concessions to a hybrid than to a normal ferret (ferrets already are demanding pets) - I miss 2 hours sleep each night because that is when my F1 is most active and wants to play WITH ME, not with its ferret-friends, not with the dog, not with the cats. 2.201.255.33 (talk) 12:05, 30 April 2024 (UTC)