Hi All,
 
Ok, I am not mad, but I couldn't resist.  You have no earthly idea how much
I love puns and how hard it is for me to come up with one.  So when I do, I
have to use it.
 
I do play rough and sometimes bite when I get too excited. I mean, me
and the ferrets that is. hehe.
 
I am currently covered in bruises and scratches.  And didn't have as much
fun as I could have to get them.  But it is nice that the ferrets treat me
like one of their own.  And I do play with them and allow them to play with
me rougher than some might.
 
I have several that did bite, still bite, etc.  Miss Maisie and Henry are
both fear biters.  Both are pet store ferrets.  Henry was mistreated and
jumpy, Miss Maisie is just an extremely timid ferret who is very high
strung.  But with lots of careful loving and speaking softly to them, they
are ok now.  Henry, who used to jump whenever I touched him, even when he
saw me reaching, now gives me kisses.  Folks, he drew blood.  The minute you
touched him, he would contort and twist to start biting as hard as he could.
All I could do is sit and let him relax.  Then I would hold him, talk softly
and love on him.  Then I would bandage myself.
 
Sampson is my boy with only 3 feet.  His speciality was biting my lips.  Him
and all his litter mates bit faces out of fear.  If you didn't get him up to
your face, you were fine.  He pierced my lip on several occassions.  And
yes, they were all abused as kits.  But this little boy is so good now, he
is timid about giving kisses.  He realizes that he hurt me by biting and is
very careful about my face now.  I used the same technique.  Even when I
would yell out in pain, I would always make sure to love on him and let him
know it was ok.  He still is a little nippy with strangers.  But not quite
as bad.
 
As for cats and aggression biting, most experts attribute this to over
stimulation.  No comments from the peanut gallery.  If you pet too long,
play too long or give too much catnip, they get too excited and have to
release that tension.  Siamese are prone to it.  I have a cat that the
former owners defanged and declawed all four feet.  I think it was due to
this, he will bite when petted to long.  With cats, you just need to realize
the cause and stop before that point.
 
I do have one ferret that bites out of attitude.  I honestly don't know if
this would be considered aggression or not.  But Conan the Toebiter bites
when he is mad at me.  And trust me, it is out of anger!  He will do an
unacceptable behavior, I get onto him about it (usually scruffing or time
out) after my reaction he is let loose, at which point he will run up to me,
chomp on my leg (or any other readily available part) and run like hell.  He
knows what he is doing!!!
 
Miss Stella also gets angry at me when I interfer with her plans.  Since she
is a climber, it is mostly putting her down from where she shouldn't be.
Once she hits the floor, she dances around, cusses at me and will ever so
lightly bite a finger or toe to let me know she is mad.
 
But with lots of shows of affection and no physical retaliation, I think all
ferrets will improve over time.  Some may take longer, but all will improve.
Even Conan.  And yes folks, I bite them when we play, makes them act nuts.
Too cute.
 
Mags
--
She don't want to save my life, she don't want to be my wife
but oh, the games we play....she's too good for me
 
Sting
[Posted in FML issue 2071]