Adoptables

If you're interested in adopting, please read through the information on this page and then use the link at the bottom of this section to start the process!
And as you look around the page, click on any photo for a full size image!

Motor City Ferrets will only adopt to Michigan residents who live within a 1-2 hour radius of Detroit. If you live further away in Michigan or you are not a Michigan resident, you cannot (no exceptions) adopt from our Shelter. There are rescues in every state and many provinces; visit http://www.petfinder.com to search for other shelters. Additionally, the prospective adopter must come to the shelter to adopt - we will not ship our ferrets, nor will we "pass them along" to an eventual home. We do not allow our ferrets to be given as "gifts." You are certainly welcome to print up a nice certificate for a visit to the Shelter to give to that special someone as a gift, but the potential owner must apply to adopt and go through the ordinary process. If you're looking for a last minute gift, you've come to the wrong place!

If you're under 21, please get your folks involved at the beginning of the Adoption Process. An adult over the age of 21 that lives in the household interested in
adopting must submit the Adoption Application. Additionally, for those young people who are over 21 but still live at home (either full time or back and forth
during a college career): at least one of your parents must come with you should you be invited for an Adoption Appointment.

While our application is more of an information gathering tool to help keep us organized than, say, a mortgage application, remember that shelter critters have
lost their home at least once already; therefore, our job is to find only loving, permanent homes through our adoption process. So please be honest
and thorough; the more information you can include on your Application the better the chance that you will be approved for adoption!

All critters are spayed or neutered and up to date on their vaccinations for Rabies & Distemper. Here on the page you see different sections for the critters. Some of our guests have been with us long enough to have had their vet visit and for us to evaluate their personality and so forth, while others are recent arrivals who aren't ready to go to a new home just yet. When you adopt, you will receive comprehensive information about the critter's temperament & personality, plus the critters' complete known history. For our critters with health troubles or behavioral issues, adoptions are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Our truly special weezils automatically become candidates for our foster program. Every critter needs and deserves a loving, permanent home, no matter their
age, health or social troubles. We developed the Foster Program to help loving families who may already have enough critters be able to find room in their heart
and home for just one more who truly deserves a special place to call home. If you're the type of person who finds it as rewarding as we do to lavish a truly
special critter with all kinds of love, please contact us to discuss fostering - and check out the Extra Special Adoptables page to meet the candidates! :)

Ready to adopt? Click here to get started!

Charles

Surrendered June, 2008, Owner Surrender, generally unwanted

Charles came in with pal Chanel. The two also were surrendered with a trio; we don't think the two were originally together. The trio were severely neglected, but fortunately Charles and Chanel were in much better shape at surrender (though clearly the entire group were neglected). Chanel headed off to the Extra Special Adoptables page due to her adrenal disease; we're happy to report that she has already found a new home! Meanwhile, it seems to us that Chanel always wore the pants in the household, so now that she's not around Charles has been asserting himself. Unfortunately this means he's become a bit of a thug in that he has no patience for those who don't follow his plan! ;) If he wants to play he'll just pester and pester and if his chosen playmate doesn't' want to romp at that moment, Charles might just have to take offense! But Charles is a sweet, fun boy who just needs to meet the right friend(s) in a potential new home. He's met potential friends during adoption visits and he's done well making new friends, but there are always many choices and for some reason, Charles has never been the one selected. :( Charles has been here for SO long - it's high time he has a home to call his own!!!

Judi & McKinley

Surrendered March, 2009: New baby, job loss, etc.

Judi, Douglas and Vance & McKinley came in together from the same home, but they didn't all start off together. The story we got was that a woman who rescues dogs ended up with all of the ferrets but she didn't want them because some of her dogs weren't ferret safe. We didn't get much information on the four; in fact, none of them even had any names! One of our volunteers found these ferrets through an ad the woman had placed on Craig's List, so we named them after our volunteer (Douglas Vance), his wife (Judi) and his Dad (McKinley). :) The woman said Judi was her son's ferret, unwanted after he left for college. Douglas was apparently found stray a month before we got him; the woman told our volunteer he arrived in terrible shape, very emaciated, but he was already back to fightin' weight when we met him. McKinley and Vance were given to the woman after their former family didn't want them, so we know they have been together for at least some time. And that's all we know of this crew's past! The four were good friends and very social, so they were all happy to make new friends right away. Unfortunately Doug developed a health issue (insulinoma) so he headed off to the Extra Special Adoptables page to begin his search for a home. Vance was lucky enough to be adopted in June, 2009, leaving his pals to continue the search for a new home! Judi and McKinley don't have to stick together; they're friends with nearly everyone. Oh, ok...so Judi doesn't get along with everyone...sometimes she does get her fur fluffed with certain critters, but she is a sweet girl that just needs to find the right home! Both would love to find a home with at least one other ferret around to play with!

Speck & Ike

Surrendered Feb, 2009: New baby, job loss, etc.

Speck, Chestnut, Russet, Fox, India, Ike & Pumpkin all came in together - yep, a group of 7 ferrets from one home! Nope, we don't often see such large groups but unfortunately every now and again we'll see a larger group of 6+ come in together. Obviously we don't expect to place this crew together…although we know a couple of great ferret parents that WE think could use 7 more, so far they haven't complied with our cajoling! HA! We're still trying to figure out who in this crew likes who as a best buddy...and frankly, it's really been a challenge. The 7 are all such GREAT friends - we just hate to split them up, but again, placing 7 together is simply unrealistic.

Sadly Miss Pumpkin passed away in April from cancer. Russett headed off for the Extra Special Adoptables page because he has a health issue and can be a bit of a thug! :) Chestunut, Fox & India have all found great new homes already. As for Speck and Ike, they're such sweet ferrets we have no idea why they're still here! These two cuties are SO social with everyone they meet, so they're just patiently hanging out waiting for new forever homes. They could stick together or go home with new friends, all in this crew are just happy to have any friends about! :)

Rosie & Clancy

Rosie: Surrendered May, 2008: Owner Surrender, young person for whom ferrets were not a good pet choice
Clancy: Surrendered February, 2008: Owner Surrender, generally unwanted Rosie, affectionately nicknamed "Tub" for her pudgy little figure, is quite a rootin' tootin' weezil!

Rosie came in with pal Lacey, who was lucky enough to find a great new home in February, 2009. The girls are not from your typical ferret mill, such as Marshall Farms; they are from "Ruby Fur Farm." Yup, a fur farm...sigh...we've met a few ferrets who were bred at this facility in Iowa over the years. Unfortunately we've heard of many from this fur factory being terribly unsocialized, but our little gals are sweet as can be. Their former owner...sigh...what a sad story. He bought one ferret that a friend or family member fell on and killed. ??? Then his uncle went and bought him another ferret but that one bit him, so he took him back to the pet shop (we assume another critter from this fur factory...traks with what we've heard over the years). So smart guy went and bought these two girls, then turned around and surrendered them a couple of months later. ???? We often wonder why the cost of ferrets doesn't slow people down from being so irresponsible...ah well, we were glad to receive the girls. Rosie had no trouble joining our large playgroup of social critters, but she is SO fun and playful that sometimes she could be a bit much for other ferrets. We affectionately consider her one of our "Thugs" when it comes to being friendly to all. HA!

Clancy came in with pal Aubrey, who was lucky enough to find a great new home in July, 2008. It seems like the pair might have been an impulse purchase and the family just got tired of them...they're such fun little critters it's hard to imagine anyone not truly enjoying having them around. Clancy was very happy to find friends in our large social playgroup, but just like Rosie he ran with our "Thug Crew" for a time because he's SO playful and has little patience for those who aren't as spunky as he is! :)

We happily saw Rosie and Clancy off to a new home in March, 2009. Alas their stay was short; after a divorce they were returned to the Shelter in July, 2009...sigh...fortunately neither were any the worse for wear so they quickly rejoined our social playgroup. Rosie is still a THUG and she is trying to boss everyone around, but some of our other critters aren't having any of that, thanks! :) As for Clancy, he's nearly given up his thuggish ways, so today he gets along with most of the new friends he meets. He's still young and very bouncy so when he's ready to go it's TIME TO PLAY, but otherwise we consider him reformed! :) Rosie and Clancy are good friends but they are very social, so they could stick together or move along to new homes on their own - as long as each will have a playmate of the weezil sort in the new home. And of course we're hoping that their next home will be their LAST!!!

Mandy

Surrendered to the Michigan Humane Society July, 2009, transferred to Motor City Ferrets

Mandy is such a sweet little gal! We were surprised to discover that the MHS decided she had lymphoma simply because she has the figure all of us middle aged gals have: little pudge here and there, totally normal! ?!?!? No swollen nodes, just a bit of cellulite here and there...harumph, some people are so judgmental! HA! Anyway, we're glad to have her here. We have no information for Mandy at all, so we don't know a thing about her history. We can report that Mandy joined our large social play group with ease and is just as cute and sweet as can be! Ms. Mandy would love to find a home with at least one other ferret around to be her best friend!

Brittni

Surrendered July, 2009: custodian said she only had the pair for 6 months or so after they were left behind at her home by someone else...???

Brittni and Martha were first noticed by one of our volunteers who found an ad on Craig's List and became worried when he saw how thin the girls appeared in the photo within the ad. Our volunteer quickly contacted the poster and let her know about our Shelter. Fortunately we did get the girls for they were indeed far too thin and very neglected (not out of their cage for at least 6 months, etc.)! Our volunteer fostered the girls for a couple of weeks and each gained a half a pound under his expert care. The girls were in otherwise good health and very happy to get attention; all they needed was a proper amount of chow each day! So when we met this cute pair they were already back in action and they quickly joined our large social play group. Martha has gone off to our Extra Special Adoptables page since she has adrenal disease. We would love to send these two adorable girls (who, even in full weight, barely top a pound each - they're so wee!) to a home together, but since they have made so many new friends we think they would be happy in many different situations. As long as each will have a ferret buddy in the new home, that is! :)

Sandra

Surrendered August, 2009: Found stray, picked up by Animal Control

Sandra is one of the luckiest ferrets we've ever met! Not only did she manage to get herself found by a caring person, she then made it to Animal Control and then to our place (hey, we're no-kill so we think that's best)! But her luckiest moment was surely when she survived nearly being EATEN! When we met Sandra we noticed several things: she was very young, she wasn't thin and didn't have any vermin (which means she wasn't out long as summertime brings all sorts of pests) and she was obviously in terrible pain. She was breathing rapidly and she would hardly open her eyes. We looked her over and soon noticed a dark spot under her white fur. We shaved the area to get a better look and were startled to see a round bruise on one side of her rib cage, and then another on the other side! We immediately thought of canine teeth of something much bigger biting her such that she ended up with the two bruises on either side. See the photo at right, which we took just after Sandra arrived and we found her injury. That first day we gave Sandra some painkiller and some Nutrical and tucked her into bed and just held tight for our vet visit. We were concerned because there was a clicking sound coming from her chest and it sure felt like she had at least a couple of broken ribs. By the time Doc saw her, the bruises had grown from two dime sized round spots to two much larger round spots with white dots in the middle. Doc exclaimed that sure enough, those were tell-tale canine teeth bruises! Can you believe it? I mean honestly, a small female ferret? It would have been SO easy for whatever bit her to just chomp down a little harder and that would have been the end of this little gal! Doc said she had a pneumo-thorax (air in the chest) but he didn't think her lungs were punctured, and she also had a couple of broken ribs. We took her home and continued the pain killer and supportive mush feedings and she just slept and slept for a couple of days straight. The bruises grew into a solid sheet of black and blue across her entire chest as she healed...oh, we felt so bad for her! But would you believe only a week after we met her this little champ was bouncing around? We know ferrets heal very quickly, but they never cease to amaze us! :) Of course Sandra's young age didn't hurt her in the recovery department, but we're still astonished at how quickly she healed AND became a happy little gal! She made many new friends in our social play group and she's been such a happy member of the crew, we're just so proud of her. After she healed that was the end of her troubles...if she did have broken ribs they seem to have healed in a way that doesn't trouble her at all. Sandra loves friends and fun so she'll certainly need to find a home with at least one other ferret friend around to have fun with every day!

Mitch, Marilyn, Moses

Surrendered August, 2009: Mitch & Marilyn returned (adopted 2008) along with Moses, the original ferret in the home

Mitch was originally Surrendered May, 2008 to Oakland County Animal Control with pal Geoff. These two boys were extremely lucky to make it to the Shelter: they were seized from a home setup for dog training/fighting with over 30 dogs! We sure hope they weren't destined for bait - whew! Although they were likely kept poorly and had to spend a week at Animal Control where they were fed dog food, the boys arrived none the worse for wear and immediately joined our large social play group, where they made many new friends right away. .

Marilyn was originally surrendered in April, 2008 to the Westland branch of the Michigan Humane Society along with her pal Cheryl. We were immediately impressed with how sweet both girls were! We're not sure what their former life was like, but it was obvious they have positive attitudes and just love to have fun! Both girls were extremely thin at surrender, but they immediately set to gaining back all the weight they were missing as quickly as possible!

Mitch and Marilyn were lucky enough to find a great new home, complete with kid brother, in August, 2008! Sadly the home didn't last long...they returned to the Shelter, along with their buddy Moses, in August, 2009. Mitch is still as outgoing as ever, we've found Marilyn to be nearly unrecognizable as most of her color fell off the last year or so (ha...as usual with silvers, 'eh?) and as for Moses, he seems to be taking being brought to the Shelter a little hard. He's a happy fellow, but he loves attention from the hooman beans and wants more full-time devotion from his hoomans. :) All three have made lots of new friends in our large social play group, so their options are wide open. All need to find homes with another ferret afoot, and Moses would like to add that he'll need some daily affirmations from his new hoomans as well! :)

Angelica, aka "Chubb"

Surrendered September, 2009: Transferred from Westland Michigan Humane Society, no history available

This little bundle of fluff is such a spunky little lady! She's a youngster, so when someone at the MHS tried to clean her ears she snapped at her handler. Now honestly...what baby doesn't? But of course at the MHS any hint of possible biting usually means a death sentence...sigh...fortunately she was released to our Shelter instead and we were happy to receive her! We haven't found anything to suggest that Angelica is a biter, she's just a rough-and-tumble babykins, which we consider totally normal. We nicknamed her "Chubb." Frequent visitors to the website might remember Rosie and Lacey, aka "Tub" and "Blub"? Well this little roundness is the latest in our "Ubb" series of round, fat, young sable girls with rockin' attitudes! hahaha She's so much fun and she gets along with absolutely everyone, so this little lady's options are wide open!

Margaret, aka "Button Face"

Surrendered September, 2009: Transferred from Westland Michigan Humane Society, no history available

"Button Face" is a term we use for a cutie who's head is entirely too small and cute for her larger body! hahaha! Why did this little gal come to our Shelter? Well we went over to the MHS to fetch Angelica one day and the girl who went to get her couldn't figure out which ferret was supposed to go with us, Angelica or Margaret, so she asked if we would take both. ??? Not too picky or detailed over at that office sometimes...sigh...anyway, we have no idea what Margaret's history is, all we can say is she arrived one happy little cutie pie who immediately started enjoying life at our place! Margaret has made many new friends in our large social play group so of course she'd like to find a home with another ferret afoot to have fun with every day!

Junior & Elaine

Surrendered October, 2009: Elderly couple no longer able to care for the ferrets (ferrets on at least their second home)

These two make such an odd couple! Junior is a HUGE dark sable and Elaine is a very petite little super-light cinnamon. They're very good friends, and even after joining our large social play group they do seem to always end up sleeping together. So that means that so far, looks like these two want to live together forever! We reckon Elaine isn't about to give up Junior's giant woobie to sleep on every night! :) Both of these cuties are so much fun. Junior's blubber jiggles when he runs and Elaine is quite the good dancer, so together they're a lively pair. We can't wait to see this happy couple off to a great new home!

Sid, Jenna, Johnny

Surrendered November, 2009: Jenna, Johnny & Eileen returned (adopted 2008) along with Sid, the original ferret in the home after the child in the home developed allergies.

Johnny was originally surrendered in June, 2008, along with pals Julie & Eileen, plus Charles & Chanel, but we know they weren't originally a fivesome - Eileen and Johnny were with Julie and the trio were extremely neglected. Can you believe that they arrived with urine burns on their feet?!?!? And after only a couple of days we realized that they are very tidy, so they must really have been living in squalor. :( We think the former owner only had this trio for a short time, and apparently she didn't feel the need to care for them very well. Unfortunately the trio arrived not long before we had an outbreak of the parasite coccidia in July, 2008. Johnny wasn't affected and Eileen was only affected in a mild fashion, but poor Julie was seriously affected. She fought bravely for over a week but in the end the disease ravaged her body (she also had cancer) and she couldn't overcome the anemia brought on by damage from the parasite and she passed away. Fortunately Johnny's positive attitude saw him through the sad times and he quickly rebounded to happiness in a large social crew.

As for Jenna, she is one lucky lady! She was originally found stray outside an apartment complex late at night in June, 2008. Jenna found just the right hooman bean who recognized she shouldn't be outside! Obviously we have no history for Jenna, but she arrived in good shape and made many new friends quickly as she enjoyed playtime with our large social play group.

We met Sid when he came with his Johnny and Jenna were lucky enough to find a great new home in September, 2008 - complete with baby brother! We know the pair are going to just love their new place and both will really enjoy being the center of attention in the new home.

Ah, another story that is taking an unexpected detour to a happy ending. We first met Sid when his family came to find him a friend. They ended up taking home Johnny and Jenna in September, 2008, and soon returned to take Eileen home as well. But the happiness was interrupted when the child in the home developed allergies to the ferrets...sigh...so these critters are on the hunt once more for an everlasting home! Eileen is featured on the Extra Special Adoptables page because she has adrenal disease, but she's as spunky as the rest of this crew, so she doesn't think she's all that needy. ;)~ These four critters are great friends but of course finding a home for a foursome can be daunting, so we're letting everyone tell us what they think about having a new home with new friends. All fit in to Shelter life instantly, which is great because some critters who have to come back sure aren't happy about it at first!

Sedera, Justin & Limousine

Surrendered November, 2009: family "too busy" to tend the ferrets

These three cuties are a fun bunch. They've been together their entire life but it's tough to place a trio together, so we'll just see how they do in the play group and who they make friends with! So far they're doing well on the social front. Limousine is already quite spunky but Sedera and Justin are more reserved. Hey, it's tough to find yourself at the Shelter! Sedera (seh-DEER-ah) has the largest eye-to-head proportion we've come across in a while, so she's extra cute. As for Limousine and her unusual name? Well, this girl is LONG! She's has the more petite frame of a girl but is as long as a boy, so she looks like a stretch version of a girl HA! We were going to call her Stretch but since we just had a Shelter critter called Stretch, we like to stick to one-name-for-each-critter so we can try to keep track...you know, 700+ rescued over the years, it's tough to keep up sometimes! So anyway, we kept thinking and came up with other stretched things...like limos...well, Limousine sounds kind of feminine, doesn't it? And that's how this little gal got her name! This trio will need to spend a bit more time with us so they can come out of their shell and start feeling more confident, plus we're keen to see if any want to stick together or if they make new friends and such. So far it seems Limo is happy anywhere with anyone! :)

Spike

Surrendered November, 2009: unwanted after Mom developed health issues

Spike is another critter who is actually very lucky to find himself in the Shelter! When he arrived he was emaciated (see inset photo when he fit into my hand, weighing in at only 1#!). After only two short weeks he doubled his weight, so between that result and the fact we can't find any health issues onboard, the only explanation for his emaciation was poor care and lack of food! Grrr...simply unacceptable! His owner complained of health issues as the reason for surrender. I guess when your health goes it's ok to let your pet starve too...GRRR!!! But enough of that. We don't know much about Spike's life, except we do know he hadn't been out of a cage for a while before surrender and clearly wasn't getting enough food, so we weren't surprised when he was nervous about finding himself in the Shelter at first. He has come around and is starting to feel more playful, but he's still hoarding food and he isn't keen to have any friends yet. We understand it's tough for a critter who's been starved to learn to trust humans and other animals, so we don't mind having Spike with us for a while so he can learn to enjoy life more. We choose his name because it sounds tough, and even in his fighting weight this little guy isn't very big. So now he has a tough guy name and soon we hope he's a fighting champ once more! :)