.This painting is called ” Lady With Ermine ” and is by Leonardo Da Vinci, I first saw it a few years ago and it has lived in my imagination ever since. The most obvious thing about this painting to me is that the lady in question has the same serene enigmatic look as the Mona Lisa.
While we know little of the subject of the Mona Lisa we do know all about this painting, it was commissioned by a Duke Ludovico Sforza and was painted in Milan, it shows a certain Cecilia Gallerani who became the duke’s mistress at a young age, look again at the painting she is depicted as having a very slight figure, perhaps revealing her age, perhaps pointing to Leonardo’s own predilection of the beauty of the human form, or maybe just the fashion of the times. She is holding an ermine, why? Well it could be that the ermine or ferret would have been a symbol of opulence as ermine was used and still is to line the robes of the aristocracy. Another suggestion might be that it could have been a play on words related to Cecilia’s surname, Gallerani is close to Galee the Greek word for a ferret.
I do wonder if she did in fact carry a ferret about and pet it as depicted in the picture, as a courtesan her stock in trade must have been to be as wholesome and attractive as possible, and ferrets can smell at times, and the smell does linger. Look again at the painting though, look at the muscles on the ferrets legs, it shows Leonardo’s experience as an anatomist and his precise attention to detail. But what do I know about painting and art? Well nothing at all as I am a veterinary surgeon and not at all artistic but I do know a little about ferrets since I spent the best part of twenty five years treating them at my clinic so that is a nice lead in to today’s article, The Ferret As A Pet.
It is said that the ferret has been domesticated so around two thousand years but up till recently was used solely for hunting, however within the last twenty of thirty years it popularity as a pet has increased and today there are many ferret clubs and societies catering for the pet ferret population within the UK. Ferrets are related to mink and weasels, and are from the family called Mustelids, domesticated ferrets have the Latin name”Mustela putorius furo” (meaning bad smelling weasel) they are derived from the wild European Polecat. The female is called a Jill, the male, a Hob, the young are termed Kits, they can live for about eight to ten years on average, they are sociable animals and are best kept in pairs.
Housing : Working ferrets are traditionally kept in rabbit hutches outside, it may be best to keep a pet ferret indoors as to be a good and docile pet it needs to be with human company and handled a lot. Indoors or outdoors the hutch needs to be secure as they are escape artists. Bedding can be hay, shredded paper or old clothes, ferrets appreciate warm comfortable bedding as they sleep for long periods in the day. Indoor ferrets can be taught to use a litter tray as they are very fastidious and clean given their own way.
Feeding : Ferrets are almost totally carnivorous and require high levels of dietary protein and fat, ferrets feed throughout the day eating small frequent meals this is due to the fact that they have an extremely short digestive tract and food passes through within 3-4 hours, they have an almost negligible need for carbohydrate and fiber. There are excellent commercial ferret foods available but some people feed cat food as well which is very high in protein, you could formulate your own diet but it would have to be almost exclusively meat of some kind. Water should be available at all times, a dropper bottle is best as it is less messy.
Handling : Pet ferrets are social animals and are very curious and playful so time should be spent each day just handling and playing with them, if you neglect them and they turn vicious, as they can do you only have yourself to blame. They do need exercise so should be let out of their cages for a run about each day.
Diseases : The main ferret disease I had to tell people about was aplastic anaemia of the female. Jills will often have prolonged seasons if not mating does not occur, this leads to high levels of oestrogen in the body and can cause aplastic anaemia. There are a number options to avoid this situation, you should have her neutered while she is healthy, if her companion is a vasectomised hob this will prevent the condition as mating will occur. There are also drugs which can be used to stop her coming into season. Ferrets can catch distemper and they can be vaccinated against it with canine vaccines, some sources state they can also catch canine kennel cough and some human respiratory infections. In anycase I have seen them with respiratory infections, as well as diarrhoea, they can get vomiting as a result of hair balls or perhaps obstruction of the bowel from swallowing bits of chewed toys. Trivial reason for consultations often included external parasites such as fleas and earmites, last but not least their nails should be cut at regular intervals as they do not wear them down as they should in captivity.
.In conclusion ferrets in my experience can make unusual and rewarding pets if you have enough time to look after them, if handled properly they can be affectionate. the only down side is that they do smell a bit, however if you have them neutered then the smell is very much reduced. And the painting? it can be seen at the museum in Krakow, Poland …….
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