[ferret owners]: please help!

[team rocket]

hi friends. i have a ferret (ernie) who is literally the sweetest baby in the world with humans. he licks everyone, crawls into their laps, walks on a leash/harness, etc. he just adores people. he is about 3.5 years old and was my best, most beloved companion for about 2.5 years. then i got a kitten, and he got upset.

i know that ferrets are carnivores and predators but after his last checkup, i asked my vet why he attacks my cat. she didn't know what to say because none of her other ferret clients have an issue with their owner's other pets. i asked her if it could be jealousy since i spent every waking moment with him but she said she doesn't really see jealousy in ferrets.

when i first brought my kitty (lottie) home, she was tiny and he was bigger than her. i (idiotically) made the mistake of introducing him to my cat and he immediately jumped on her back and i had to nip their playtime in the bud. i was confused because he will play with our family dog just fine (she is a 7 pound malshi) but will occasionally jump on her back as well, seemingly unprovoked. but for the most part, they chase each other and play.

well, about a month ago i got a 5 month old miniature schnauzer (bart) and ernie does the same thing to him. one night i had put lottie in the hallway and shut the door (to keep her safe) while i let ernie out for his play time. i had bart kenneled as well to give ernie my full attention. about 10 minutes after being let out, he weasels himself (tehe, see what i did there?) into bart's kennel and attacks him! of course my puppy was screaming cuz of ernie's little needle teeth but this attack was absolutely unprovoked and i am at a loss at what to do.

online articles aren't helping me because i can't seem to find other ferrets who exhibit this behavior. i want to be able to have ernie get along with my puppy at the least because lottie is fine being put in the bathroom for an hour.

what can i do to get them to get along or is this pretty much a lost cause? this is the only issue i have with my little ernie and he is my heart & soul but i feel bad leaving him locked in his cage because he's mean as fuck to my other animals.

[Cybun]

I feel some ferrets will always attack animals that are around the same size as themselves, remember that they were bred to hunt, kill and drag out rabbits that can get quite big. It appears that Ernie gets along better with your family dog because she is capable of handling herself better and showing that she isn't prey, so he accepts her more easily, but your cat and puppy may be too young (or it might be part of their personality) to hold their ground and show Ernie that they can be on the same level
Is Ernie fixed?

[team rocket]

@(you need an account to see links)
yes he is. he was fixed when i bought him. i believe you have to have a license to have unfixed ferrets because of complications that can arise if they don't get bred when their sex hormones are rampant. so i don't think it's like a testosterone thing.

my puppy is also getting fixed on friday. my dog "plays" with ernie outside of his cage i.e. will make his play sounds and bark and wag his tail and touch noses with him. i've tried holding ernie and letting the puppy sniff him but bart is so in his face and so ready to play that i think it pisses him off lol :/

[Cybun]

@(you need an account to see links)
yes he is. he was fixed when i bought him. i believe you have to have a license to have unfixed ferrets because of complications that can arise if they don't get bred when their sex hormones are rampant. so i don't think it's like a testosterone thing.

my puppy is also getting fixed on friday. my dog "plays" with ernie outside of his cage i.e. will make his play sounds and bark and wag his tail and touch noses with him. i've tried holding ernie and letting the puppy sniff him but bart is so in his face and so ready to play that i think it pisses him off lol :/

True, mine was also fixed when we got him, I'm not even sure if Sid was a ferret because he was the most low energy pet we've ever had lmao
It's still possible to buy ferrets that aren't fixed specially from third parties so I just thought I'd ask, maybe it's just Ernie's personality to test the other animals and see how far he can get before being put in his place and understanding that not everything is prey. Maybe give your puppy another 2-3 months before letting them interact without the cage, I wish I could give better advice but ferrets are so stubborn that I can't think of any training exercise that might help

[team rocket]

True, mine was also fixed when we got him, I'm not even sure if Sid was a ferret because he was the most low energy pet we've ever had lmao
It's still possible to buy ferrets that aren't fixed specially from third parties so I just thought I'd ask, maybe it's just Ernie's personality to test the other animals and see how far he can get before being put in his place and understanding that not everything is prey. Maybe give your puppy another 2-3 months before letting them interact without the cage, I wish I could give better advice but ferrets are so stubborn that I can't think of any training exercise that might help

that's okay!! not everybody has answers but you've given me enough input to be of help

and they are stubborn af haha. that's why i love them so much. i just went home on my break and let bart sniff ernie and ernie sniff bart and all went well...i guess i'll just have to put both my animals in the hallway to let ernie out. thank you!