Our rescue ferret, Bridgett, had one screaming episode shortly after we got
her. She fell off Bill's shoulder and he caught her halfway down. She began
to scream loudly and repeatedly.  It sounded sort of like a fire alarm.  I
thought she was badly hurt, but she stopped as soon as Bill put her back in her
cage.  For a while after this episode, she cringed whenever I reached toward
her.  It seemed to be some type of panic attack.  This has never happened
again.  We wonder if this episode was triggered by some bad memory associated
with falling, or by the smell of a nearby cat.  The only other time we have
heard this sound was when our neighbor's large adolescent dog leaped toward our
ferret Ben.  Ben made the same shriek but quickly stopped.  Both times it was
a sound of terror.  We have also heard the sound made by lonely baby ferrets.
Buttercup used to make a "honking" sound which stopped as soon as she was held.
The "panic scream" is quite distinct from this sound.
        Clare Sebok
[Posted in FML issue 1228]