We experienced something similar back in January, when our female ferret
Ally passed away.  What started out to be a normal Sunday afternoon
turned tragic when Ally got lodged in our kitchen stove and was
electrocuted before we could figure out a way to get her out.  When we
were trying to get her out, I went looking for Annie, our smallest
ferret, to put her in her cage.  She was underneath the kitchen cabinet,
just lying there, and she actually looked depressed.  It was like she
knew that Ally was in trouble.  When we finally got Ally out, we did lay
her out on our bed (there were no outward signs that she had been
electrocuted; she looked like she was sleeping) and one by one, we
brought the others up on the bed to say goodbye.  Their reactions were so
humanlike it was eerie.  At first they would nudge her, as if to try to
wake her up; then they would lie down beside her.  For weeks afterward,
none of them were their normal sevles.  They seemed depressed and they
hardly played.
 
So yeah, I think that ferrets are very aware when something is going on;
they're very intuitive.
 
Becky and Heather and the Magnificent 7: Abby, Andre, Annie, Arthur, Avery,
Bob and Peanut
Missing Ally, 1/6/02
[Posted in FML issue 3922]