I gotta say, I lightly skimmed the thread about ferret responses to high
pitched sounds, such as a baby crying, but I experienced it first hand
tonight.  And this from our new little girl,  Penny, a 14 week old.
 
I was in our ferret room when I happened to bump the clear dryer hose
against a wicker basket we have in the room.  It made a noise something like
you get with fingernails on a blackboard.  All three ferrets quickly came
over to investigate but other than the normal curiosity, there wasn't too
much excitement.  A few hours later, when the two boys were sleeping and I
was in the room cleaning Penny's litter box and she was hanging around
seeing what trouble she could get into, I reached over and rubbed the dryer
hose against the wicker basket, making the same, high pitched squeak/squeal.
 
I'll tell you, I was not at all prepared for the response from Penny.  In
the blink of an eye her teeth were sunk into my arm.  I won't use the word
vicious, but I don't know how else to explain the furor with which she tore
into my arm, leaving me with an inch long gash on one side, and a number of
less severe punctures in various spots.  I had a hard time separating her
from my arm but once I did, she seemed to revert back to her normal,
rambunctious self.
 
She does not respond in this manner to the squeaky toy we use to round up
the ferrets.  She's just like the two boys in that she just comes running
for her drop of Ferretone.  There must be something about the frequency of
this particular noise that says "Attack!" to her.
 
So much for keeping the dryer hose near the wicker basket.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* Secretary, South Florida Ferret Club & Rescue
*
* Visit our web site:  http://www.gate.net/~mjanke
[Posted in FML issue 2264]