I am waiting anxiously for Desmond Morris to come out with a book called
"Ferret Watching." Until then (I guess this could be a really long wait), I
just have to guess what some of my ferret's strange social seeming behaviors
mean.  There is one that especially confounds me.  Sebastian is an extremely
sweet, cuddly creature.  He loves to crawl in bed with me and my husband.
However, once he gets to his favorite spot under the covers down by our
feet, he proceeds to scratch us vigorously with his little claws.  This is
pretty uncomfortable.  Does anyone know what kind of behavior this is?  I
occasionally see him scratching at his bedding when he sleeps alone, but
mostly he likes to scratch me.  My husband postulated that it is similar to
being "kneaded" by a cat.  In otherwords, it's a leftover behavior from
babyhood which is useful in nursing.  Whatever it is, it's sort of cute, and
sort of painful.  (Ow!  Stop that!  Awww, he's licking my leg, now,
awwww...Hey!  Ouch!)
 
--Catherine Shaffer
[Posted in FML issue 1395]