I thought I had heard just about every sound that sable (Finnegan) and Silver
(Charlie) could make, but I was mistaken.
 
A few nights ago, I was doing some laundry, and using my PC, while my boys
were running around, on their perpetual search for mischief.  After some time,
I noticed that I hadn't seen or heard them in quite a few minutes.  That
always makes me instantly suspicious, so I got up and began looking for them.
I called and looked, looked and called ... then I noticed it:  I had carried
my laundry basket into my apartment, shut the door with my foot, but it hadn't
latched.  My guys noticed it, and scratched the door open, and were lose in
the hallway of my apartment complex!
 
Here I am, in a ferret-free zone, no collars on my boys, and they're
running free in the apartment building hallway!
 
I immediately flung open the door, and rushed out into the hall.  It didn't
take me long to spot Charlie, at the entrance to the stairwell at the end of
the hall.  So I bolted down the hall at top speed, toward Charlie, who turned
and scurried into the stairwell, where Finnegan was peering out at me.
 
Now, picture this from the perspective of a ferret:  You're nervous because
your in a big, unfamiliar area, you can't see very well; yet, you see a
*large* shape in the distance, and suddenly that shape is rushing toward you.
The poor guys!  I scared the bejesus out of them, and I didn't even realize
it.  I frequently run at my ferrets because they love to be chased, and I
figured they were playing now.
 
I reached the stairwell, entered, and had Charlie cornered.  I was about to
reach for him, when he emitted a noise that I've never before heard from a
ferret.  It was like a cough, but much, much louder.  If I had been a
predator, I would have thought twice about attacking this animal.  I was
concerned that I would lose a finger if I reached for him.  I said his name,
spoke soothingly, tentatively reached for him, and managed to pick him up
without incident.
 
I then turned my attention to Finnegan.  He was further into the stairwell,
where there was a banister, and a 30-foot drop.  He was hissing, and hissing,
and hissing, and then _he_ let out that hack-type noise, and turned around and
began backing off the landing, under the banister, and in no time, was hanging
by his front legs, with nothing below him but the ground, 30 feet down!
 
I said his name a few times, and he pulled himself up, and visibly relaxed.  I
picked him up, and we returned safely to my apartment.
 
Has anybody ever heard that kind of noise from their ferrets before?  I'm
surprised the neighbors didn't come out ... it was that loud!
 
[I've heard it from ours.  Most times we figger they've got a bit of
a cold.  Only once or twice super-loud.]
 
-Sheldon, Finnegan, & Charlie.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0453]