After having him only three years we lost Sir Walter Farrari to a case of
mammary cancer which spread to his lymph nodes.  Our local vet was really
great and even referred us to North Carolina State University's vetrinary
school where they did everything from erays (that's x-rays, I can't
backspace on this terminal) to sonar cardiograms and put him on a series
of experimental chemotherapy.  After some initial improvement, the tumors
spread and enlarged and we finally hadto have him put to sleep after he
became totally lathargic and would not even eat when spoon fed.  We
orginally found him at the local animal control shelter where he had been
picked up on the street in a pretty scruffy condition and his care was
turned over to me when our youngest son left for college two years ago.  I
guess that I had grown pretty attached to the little fellow because losing
him has really put me into a funk.  I couldn't even bear writing this for
the last few weeks.  We've had dogs, cats, and a rabbit die at ripe old
ages, but I never felt nearly this bad about things.
 
The point of this letter is:  How do other ferret owners go about dealing
with the loss of their pets?  My wife has suggested another ferret, but
I don't seem to have the heart for it a few weeks after burying Walter in
the back yard.  Also, the folks at NC state had never treated a ferret
for cancer.  How common is this?  How likely am I to be setting myself
up for another let down.  Something tells me that I'm behaving like
an idiot, but I really miss the little fellow.
 
[It isn't all that uncommon.  One of ours (Toby) died at 10 months from
Thymic Lymphosarcoma (cancer leading to enlarged and ultimately ruptured
spleen).  And one or two others on the list have lost ferrets to it.  These
have appeared similar to the outcome of Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV).
But as yet, research hasn't come up with any definitive proof that either
FeLV or a ferret-analog of it is responsible.  Or, indeed, whether it
is a transmittable disease or simply a spontaneous cancer.  Toby tested
positive on the FeLV test, but there's no agreement whether the test
means anything or not.  Or whether the FeLV vaccine has any effect.
Some veterinary literature on ferrets that we have seen mentions various
forms of cancer that have been seen in ferrets.
 
It is saddening to lose one (or two as in our case) of our furry friends.
We will probably be getting one or two more, but seeing as we have a
new baby, we'll wait a bit until Gregory's old enough to appreciate and
properly play with ferrets before we get any more.  We'll probably be
getting a male - because they're more capable of putting up with
rough-and-tumble and, in our experience, are gentler (but rowdier)]
 
Len Bliss
Boone, NC
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0091]