Ferret makes its home in Meikle Earnock family’s garage

Mar 3 2011 by Alastair McNeill, Hamilton Advertiser

Ferret makes its home in Meikle Earnock family’s garage

A HAMILTON family recently discovered a ferret had set up home in their garage.

The animal had made a nest in sheets in the garage of the Inglis family’s home in Meikle Earnock.

Ferrets, members of the weasel family, are closely related to polecats and the animal concerned had polecat colouring.

Keir Inglis - who lives in Brackenhill Drive with wife Joanne, seven-year-old son Hayden and daughter Abbie (3) - became aware something was in the garage when polishing his car on Saturday, February 19.

“I could hear a rustling sound coming from the garage. When I opened the door I saw something as big as a cat,” he explained.

“I contacted my dad and he came up to have a look, but the animal didn’t want to come out at that point.

“It must have got in to the garage through a gap in the door which we’ve since had fixed.”

However, over the next few days the animal lost its shyness.

Keir explained: “We thought it had gone. However, the following day I opened the garage door to see it lying on the sheets. It wasn’t scared of me at all.

“My foot must have been inches away from it but it wasn’t bothered.”

The family didn’t see the animal again until last Saturday.

Keir said: “We called out the SSPCA at the weekend and their inspector told us it was a polecat.

“By that stage, it was quite happy to wake up and see you.

“My son Hayden was very amused by it all. The animal was very good natured.

“I guess it was very happy to be fed luncheon meat.”

The family contacted the SSPCA last Saturday and an inspector came out and took it away.

An SSPCA spokeswoman said this week the ferret was an escaped pet, and its owner claimed the animal from the organisation the following day.

She described it as “a ferret with polecat colouring”.

Polecats have a distinctive black band of fur on their face.

Since ferrets are closely related to polecats they are able to crossbreed with them.