A polecat is a small, thin, fierce wild animal. Polecats have a very unpleasant smell. Any of several carnivores of the weasel family (Mustelidae), found in Eurasia and Africa. The polecat hunts at night, principally on the ground, feeding on small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, fishes, and eggs. Species differ in size and colour. The European, or common, polecat (Mustela putorius), also called foul marten for its odour, weighs 1-3 lb (0.5-1.4 kg) and is 14-21 in. (35-53 cm) long, excluding the 5-8-in. (13-20-cm) bushy tail. Its long, coarse fur is brown above, black below. In the U.S., skunks are often called polecats. See also ferret
{i} any of a number of carnivorous mammals belonging to the weasel family; skunk, species of small mammal that sprays a foul-smelling musk when threatened
American musteline mammal typically ejecting an intensely malodorous fluid when startled; in some classifications put in a separate subfamily Mephitinae