The ferret is a domesticated for of the European Polecat.
My friend had a pet ferret one time. They are messy and have an odor.
They have an odor? I didn't know that. I do know that they have brown, black, white or mixed fur.
The one my friend had was brown. Yes, they can have a very distinct odor! Sometimes it is unbearable!
Ferret
The ferret ("Mustela putorius furo") is the domesticated form of the European polecat, a mammal belonging to the same genus as the weasel, "Mustela", in the family Mustelidae. Their fur is typically brown, black, white, or mixed. They have an average length of , including a tail, weigh about , and have a natural lifespan of 7 to 10 years. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators, with males being substantially larger than females.
The history of the ferret's
Polecat–ferret hybrid
A polecat–ferret hybrid is a hybrid between a wild European polecat ("Mustela putorius") and a domesticated ferret ("Mustela putorius furo"). Offspring of a such a cross between the two animals typically have a distinct white throat patch, white feet and white hairs interspersed among the fur. It is currently impossible to distinguish pure polecats from hybrids through DNA analysis, as the two forms are too closely related and inter-mixed to be separated through current (2010) genetic methods