You will need:

   food for your ferret [6.1]
   a food dish (one hard to tip)
   a water dish (one hard to tip) or water bottle (see below)
   litter boxes (see below)
   litter [6.4]
   bedding [5.4] (not wood shavings [6.5])
   a cage [5.4]
   ferret shampoo (baby shampoo works fine too)
   a collar and a little bell [5.6]
   pet claw clippers (large human-nail clippers work, but not quite as well)
   toys (ferretproofed) [5.5]
   a veterinarian who is familiar with ferrets [1.2]
   Linatone or Ferretone, if you can find them (see below and [6.2])
   Bitter Apple or something similar (see below)
   a box or basket to be a bedroom [5.4]
   a harness and leash (optional) [5.6]

Ferretone and Linatone are similar vitamin supplements [6.2] that
nearly every ferret considers a wonderful treat [6.3].  Bitter Apple
is a bad-tasting liquid or paste intended to stop pets from chewing
things.  The paste will probably be much more effective.  You may want
an H-type harness and a leash for walks [5.6].  Ferrets love to play
in, and empty, water bowls, so you might want to give them a
rabbit-type water bottle instead, or at least provide one in case
their bowl gets tipped over.

You will almost certainly need more than one litter pan, particularly
if you have a large home.  Small-size cat litter pans work fine, as do
plastic dishpans, storage boxes, or large school supply boxes.  Many
ferrets don't seem to like the special triangular corner boxes,
probably since they can't climb all the way in, but yours might.
(Before buying one, ask ferret-owning friends.  Chances are somebody
has one sitting around that his ferrets never use.)  For a travel cage
or shoulder bag you can use a Rubbermaid-type plastic container
intended for bread or ice cream (about 6 X 9 X 5 inches).  Make sure
the sides of the pan are at least 4 inches high, since ferrets
habitually back into corners to deposit their wastes and you don't
want messes over the sides of the pan.  However, one side of the pan
should be no more than an inch or two high, so your ferret can get in
and out easily.  This is especially true for a young kit.

If you're particularly sensitive to cleaning pans or to litter pan
odor, one novel suggestion was to use empty milk jugs, standing
upright, with the circular indentation on the side cut out.  Use only
a small amount of litter, and the whole jug can then be thrown away
when it gets dirty.