Dear Stacy:
 
Congratulations on joining the FML, and giving a good home to Spike.
Please don't think that the world of ferrets is so bleak - the FML tends
to concentrate issues, and your life with your ferret will have many more
happy moments than sad ones.  Let's take a look at your questions:
 
>It seems that all of them get cancer, why?
 
Not all ferrets get cancer - but all ferrets die, eventually (as do us
all.)  Cancer accounts for a large percentage of terminal disease in
ferrets, but we also have other major causes of death - heart disease, and
if they miss all of this - then kidney disease often results in the demise
of our very old ferrets.  But this is not too much different than in
people, or in any other species.
 
Why do they get so much cancer - I can't tell you.  Simply because of the
fact that the particular tumors that we see in the U.S. aren't see in
other countries, and that most U.S. ferrets are derived from a similar
small genetic pool, it is likely that there is a strong genetic component
in the Americna bloodline.  However, some neoplasms, such as lymphosarcoma,
may have a viral etiology to explain the high incidence in certain
facilities.
 
But we don't know what causes most spontaneous tumors in people either.
Yes, we know that smoking causes a number of tumors, especially lung and
throat, and sun causes skin cancers, but most of the others are still a
mystery.  So your question is not one that is unknown just for ferrets,
but is beyond our ken at this point for almost any species.  I am hopeful
in less than ten years we will have your answer.
 
>I also heard through the net that all of the ferrets that get cancer come
>from Marshall Farms, is this true?
 
No - I have seen thousands of cases of neoplasms in ferrets, and many,
many are from other bloodlines.  Opinions and tempers run high about MF,
and this leads to a bit of hyperbole.
 
>And is there anything I can do that might prevent it?
 
At the moment, all I can tell you (having lost a number of my own ferrets
to various neoplasms), is that the best that you can do is provide good
nutrition, a lot of TLC, and most importantly, be very alert for any
possible problems - know your ferrets behavior and appearance and identify
changes as soon as possible - and bring them to the attentionof your vet.
The majority of tumors in ferrets are treatable if identified early.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3184]