Putorius

Also known as Ictonyx, polecat subgenus

Polecats (subgenus Putorius) are mustelids in the genus Mustela. It includes four living species — the black-footed ferret or American polecat (Mustela nigripes), the domestic ferret (Mustela furo), the European polecat (Mustela putorius), and the steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii). Polecats share the genus Mustela with members of the subgenera Lutreola and Mustela.