To Cynthia Riskin:
 
Re your question:
 
1. My little girl had two mass cell tumors
removed a couple of months ago, and now I
think she has another.
 
What's weird is that my boy just had a tumor
removed (lab results not back yet) too.
 
Why are my kids getting tumors? I feed them
Purina Ferret Chow, they're not in direct
sunlight, and they're otherwise happy
healthy varmints.
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        We really don't know what causes tumors in ferrets, or other species, or
even man, for that matter, with a few exceptions.  Some neoplasms may be caused
by toxic substances, or by viruses, but neither of these reasons have been cited
for most of the ferret neoplasms.
 
        Mast cell tumors are common benign skin tumors in ferrets.  They remain
restricted to the skin; evidence of metastasis has never been documented in the
ferret, although it may be seen commonly in dogs and cats.  Food and sunlight do
not seem to have any relationship to these tumors in ferrets.
 
        Just keep taking them off as fast as they come up....
 
 
Bruce Williams, DVM
[log in to unmask]
 
[Posted in FML issue 0609]