To Judy concerning Teebone -
 
        Your thanks for the article are greatly appreciated.  I hope that it is
of use to all of the FML'ers.
 
        I had forgotten that Teebone had the abscess problem.  There may be a
connection between the fluid in the lungs and the perianal abscesses - sometimes
infected material can spread from abscesses to other parts of the body.  I would
very much encourage your vet to do that radiograph to make sure Teebone doesn't
have a bacterial pneumonia (although the chances are slight, it's better to err
on the safe side....)
 
        Best of luck with Teebone, and have a happy new year....
 
 
To Rose concerning Little Red -
 
        I have heard from several quarters that an elongated uterine stump can
secrete estrogens in the absence of functional ovaries.  Adrenal glands can also
secrete excess estrogens even though they may not look "bad" to the veterinary
surgeons' eye.  The third possibility is a small piece of ovarian tissue
somewhere hidden away in the abdomen.
 
        The results of a CBC cannot say whether an animal has been spayed or not
- it can only say whether it is anemic or not.  The fact that your animal is not
anemic doesn't really add much to this picture.  Ferrets with adreanl lesions
are rarely anemic in spite of giving every other outward sign of being in heat.
 
        If uterine tissue can be found in the abdomen, then it should be
removed.  Then we will have to address the adrenal problem after that - but the
lush haircoat doesn't support an adrenal lesion (remember, not every animal
reads the textbooks)...
 
        It's a puzzler....
 
 
Bruce Williams
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[Posted in FML issue 0681]