Howdy y'all!
 
Just came back from the vet with Sasha and Snowy and I'm afraid I don't
have great news so I could really use some advice / info.
 
I'd noticed that Sasha hadn't been her usualy perky, fiesty, playful self
over the past few weeks and she's asleep almost 24/7.  At first I thought
it might be due to the heat wave we've been having here in Seattle but
then I dismissed that b/c my condo stays a continual 70-72 degrees (max)
and the kiddos appear comfortable with that and her poops are normal
color/consistency/frequency.
 
Second, I thought that something might be the effect of Sasha's adrenal
surgery back in May but that appeared not to be the case.  Sasha did
appear to have lost 'some' weight and she's usually got a very healthy
appetite so that was strange.  Just found out that she's gone 2.5 # to
1.5# and the 1.5# is WITH that big spleen so if you subtract that from
her weight, she's lost over a full pound in just a month or less)!
 
Just a few days ago, I began feeling her abdomen and noticed a HUGE MASS
that I could maneuver with my hands and that freaked me out so I knew
something was wrong!
 
The vet said she's got an enlarged SPLEEN as well as a pin head sized
mass/cyst on the underside of her neck.  Doc said the spleen could be
removed without incident but she wanted to first do a complete CBC to
see what caused the spleen to grow so big so fast.  Removing the mass
would require Sasha being 'put under' and I'm not so keen about that.
 
Does anyone have any experience with having their furkids' speens
removed .... pro's & con's stuff?  Would this contribute to her loss
of appetite?
 
I'm thinking that Sasha's lethargy is probably being caused by her having
to drag around that big spleen inside her - no wonder!
 
Doc advised that I pay close attention to her eating and make sure she
IS eating so I've concocted a 'chix gravy mix' that includes their ground
up kibble, ground cooked chix and ground beef, their vitamin paste, and
water.  I know there's so many Chix gravy recipies out there and I have a
few but what's the BEST method for helping ferrets gain weight with
healthy items?
 
THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE . . . . Jen, Sasha & Snowy
[Posted in FML issue 4584]