To Sheldon with Charlie
 
 The signs that you are seeing are very typical of a stomach foreign body,
and at his age, a hair ball is a common finding.  Frequently foreign bodies
are not seen on regular x-rays, particularly if the vet does not have high
detail x-ray film.  Frequently, even those of us that have palpated a lot of
ferrets, cannot feel the material in the stomach.  I would like to know what
the blood results were.  Did your vet do an endoscopic exam of the stomach?
Ferrets with chronic stomach foreign bodies will gradually waste away if
surgery is not performed.  If you would like to have your vet consult with
our office she or he can send all the information on the case by FAX to
708-344-8194 and we can give our interpretation and suggestions.  I do not
know the vets in your area, as we are based in Chicago.  Another possibility
is chronic gastric (stomach) ulcers or cancer of the intestinal tract or
stomach (we have seen several cases of cancer at the pylorus or the outflow
area of the stomach, again not visible on a plain x-ray)....again, and
exploratory is the fastest way to find out and hopefully fix the problem.
If, God forbid, the little guy doesn't make it, if you feel that you can
possibly do it, have a postmortem exam done to determine the cause for you
and your vet to learn for the future of your other animals.  Foreign bodies
in the stomach are EXTREMELY COMMON problems in ferrets.  I would have
contacted you directly, but your email address was not printed.
Dr. Susan Brown
 
Issue 787  Taurine
 
Perhaps Dr. William will elaborate, but there has not been definitive
research to show that taurine is directly linked to heart muscle disease in
ferrets.  It has been linked to heart muscle disease  that causes thinning
and weakening of the muscle in cats (dilatative cardiomyopathy), and this is
why cat food manufacturers have added taurine to their cat foods.  However,
ferrets suffer from both dilatative and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and we do
not know the exact cause, although I would have to agree that diet probably
does play a part.  Very empirically, I see far less cases of cardiomyopathy
now than I did 15 years ago since the cat food diets have added taurine...but
I still see it.
Dr. Susan Brown
 
Issue 785  Alky, vaginal discharge and blood.
 
Dr. Williams covered everything very well and I would have to be suspicious
of underlying adrenal disease or an infection in the remaining stump of the
uterus.  Both of these conditions may ultimately require surgery.
My only additional comment is that we have had people mistakenly call
material around the vagina blood when it was in fact just some very reddish
brown oil secretions from the skin.  There are numerous oil glands in ferrets
skin and we have seen these secretions around the vagina.  Blood should
appear red if you take a dried piece of it and put it on a white piece of
paper and add a drop of water and smear it around.  If it is wax, it will not
break down well and it will have a rusty orange color.
As Dr. Williams mentioned...don't wait too long to have more diagnostics done
if the therapy you are using now is not helping.
Dr. Susan Brown
 
Regarding when to perform euthanasia
 
Dr. Williams went through an excellent clinical list of signs to watch for,
for pain.
What I tell my clients is that they will usually know when the time comes.
You will see it in their eyes, when they have given up themselves.  I don't
believe in euthanizing animals just because they are sleeping more, have lost
hair or body condition, can't always control their bathroom habits if they
are still bright eyed when awake and still interested in their surroundings
and eating well (even if you are handfeeding them).  You need to spend some
quiet time with your pet with no one else around and focus on him or her and
on yourself.  Evaluate whether your pet is still wanting to be with you and
whether you are hanging on too hard when your pet is giving you another
message.  If you feel that you can't evaluate the situation because it is too
close for you and too painful, ask another person who loves you and your pet
to give their honest opinion.
It is difficult to have your veterinarian make this decision for you, as you
live with and know your pet the best.  Your vet can only really evaluate the
pain situation and give their opinion based on that particular moment in
time, but can't make the decision for you (I know you weren't asking for
that, but it is a responsibility that is put on us at times).
Remember, we are not necessarily "playing God" when we make these decisions,
as in the case of a very ill animal, we have likely kept its life prolonged
in a quality way far longer than it would have been in the wild where it
would have fallen prey to another animal or to the environment shortly after
becoming ill.
I also believe that life is a cycle and death is only one part of that cyle.
The energy of life flows on to another from that dear departed one and there
really is no "end", but only another beginning.
The decision for euthansia is one of the most difficult any of us can face
and it is always a painful one.  At least in the animal world, we have the
option to end suffering in a gentle and dignified way.  If only it were the
same in the human world.......
Susan Brown, D.V.M.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0789]