Hello all, I've been reading the list for about three months now, since
about the time we got our first weasel, Penelope.  About a month ago, we got
a second, Petunia.  Penolope's getting to about six months, and Petunia is
about four (months).  Last night we were doing laundry, so I gathered up the
hammock and the flannel pieces they sleep in (and Penelope's beloved squeaky
banana) and tossed them in.  About an hour later I went in to the kitchen to
play with them (I'd like to give them more freedom, and Penelope could
probably handle it, but Petunia has some kind of mental block about using
the litterbox, so for now they're kept in a tiled area about 6 by 10 feet).
 
Anyway, earlier in the evening, Petunia had pooped on the floor, and my wife
cleaned it up, finishing off by spraying Lysol all around the edges of the
floor.  I missed a piece of flannel, though, so when I entered the playpen I
started playing tug-o-war with one of them.  After a while, I started to
watch the freshly-awakened Petunia, so I could reward her for using the
litterbox (yeah, right), and soon after noticed Penelope mopping the floor.
At least, that's what it looked like.  She had the flannel trapped under her
front paws, and she was slowly backing all around the perimeter of the
playpen.  She was rubbing the cloth pretty hard against the floor -- you
could hear a scrubbing sort of sound.  Every so often, she would grab an
edge of the cloth in ther teeth and drag it backward so the cloth would open
up, then she'd bunch it up, stand her front paws on it, and start mopping
again.  I let this continue for a while, just trying to figure out what was
going on, then I tried to pull the cloth away from her.  She yanked it back
and kept going.  After a while she stopped, so I picked her up, stood her on
the cloth, and dragged her backward about a foot.  She started right up
again, for about two minutes, and then lost interest.  I was unable to coax
her into doing it again.
 
So, was she a) indicating to me she isn't as messy as Petunia (she watches
me litter-training Petunia, and I have had other experiences which indicate
she understands what I am doing), or b) trying to fix the smell of the
Lysol-covered floor (this seems more likely), or c) something else really
weird?  She was just so purposeful about the whole thing...
[Posted in FML issue 2025]