After months of considering what small pet would be right for me and my children and after lots of research on the internet we decided on Ferrets.  

I read lots of web pages, looked at loads of utube videos and from what I could see was that Ferrets make great indoor pets, are friendly and playful, easy to train and dont smell as bad as we are brought up to believe.

Based on all that I started looking to buy a Ferret and decided to go for the part angora ones.  unfortunately because of the time of year I was looking and the massive waiting lists for angora ferrets there were none available.  However one of the angora breeders said they were looking to rehome their 2yr old male and also had 3 other angora ferrets to rehome all aged around 18mths, the youngest one being 8mths.

I decided this would be more suitable for me as they were already trained.  So I took ownership of them and they arrived on Saturday.  

I know I havent given this very long but I am beginning to feel I have made a huge mistake :-(  They smell terribly, it actually gets to the back of my throat and makes me breathless, I clean the litter box in their cage everyday and they have been bathed.  Also the youngest one bites!  Not just a gentle nip but she has grabbed my finger and the flesh on my hand really hard (piercing the skin and leaving deep bruises), even when I scruff her she doesnt let go, its quite frightening!  The other 3 are really good and just gently play nip, but I am now really scared of this youngest one.  Also when I let them out to play they just poop everywhere (not just corners), I have purchased a second litter tray as well to put in the room when they are out playing but they still poo on the carpet which is something I just cant tolerate.

Can anyone suggest any other ideas about this one nipping?  I would have thought at 8mths old it would not be doing this as it has been with another home before coming to me.

Also any suggestions about their smell, the male one I have has been neutered (but I can still smell him), I read on another forum that they smell less if fed on raw meat and not kibble, does anyone have any advise on this.

I am trying to perceiver with them and please dont hate me for sounding negative, I did do all the research I could before getting them and have spent out a lot of money on them along with their cage and toys etc.

Also when watching the utube videos and researching how cats get on with ferrets (I have two indoor cats) and the research showed that ferrets and cats get on, but my cats are really stressed by them even when the ferrets are in the cage, when I let the ferrets out I have to shut the cats out the room as the cats are terrified by them, yet my cats have been fine with other small animals.

Sorry to sound negative as I have ready loads of owners stories who absolutely love them, me being an animal lover and having owned many different animals in the past really thought I would love them, but Im not feeling the love at the moment :-(

Any possitive help would be greatly appreciated.