My boy Lex is 6.5 years old. Free roaming with 2 brothers.

Rapid weight gain over about 3 weeks (just recently, i.e. summer).
Can feel some fatty deposits in neck but mainly it's his belly that's
bloated and makes gurgling noises. (Occurred about 6 weeks after
surgery to remove an infected abscess in his neck from a ferret bite.
Surgery went fine. He recovered really well. Was on antibiotics for
7 weeks just to be sure. Thyroid was left in tact, no complications
there. So probably unrelated I think.)

Not lethargic, but obviously not feeling peppy with extra weight.
Struggle to get up stairs, but not a loss of hind legs.

Brittle, dry hair even though he's a fairly oily ferret.

No hair loss at base of tail.

Odd, seemingly random shedding pattern and incomplete shedding (This
is not new, has occurred past two years).

Might be more thirsty than normal. Has always drunk a lot of water,
but recently rushes to shower to ask for drink first thing when wakes
up. He has access to fresh water all the time.

Our vet palpated and did full body x-ray. Nothing obvious in either.
No lumps. No fluid accumulation.

Eating and pooping normally (but I'm going to double check that).

I'm thinking Adrenal but without the classic sign of hair loss. If so,
seems to have taken an aggressive turn. Perhaps I should consider blood
work and surgery now instead of simply putting him on Prednisone to
monitor and confirm. A second surgery in 2 months makes me nervous
because he had slight heart flutter/disruption right at the end of the
last one. But I won't hesitate to pay if it's the right thing to do.

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Kathleen McCormick
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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[Posted in FML 6069]