Ferretting out info on the polecat

SOMEBODY asked me the other day “What’s a ferret?”

At this stage I’ve become quite used to being asked odd questions so I did my best to answer. A ferret, I explained, “is a domesticated polecat”.

This was greeted by a blank look that demanded some further explanation. A polecat, I continued, is not a cat. It’s a member of the family of animals that includes the stoat, pine marten and otter. In the past, people thought these animals were related to cats, although they’re not. An old Irish name for a pine marten is a ‘marten cat’ and the juvenile members of the family are still called ‘kits’.