>>Re:  I have a six year old ecru sable female named Abby who was diagnosed a
few months back as having tumors on her kidneys.  She has experienced hair loss
and abdominal swelling, but is fine otherwise.  Her doctors at the Animal
Medical Center in NYC told me the only treatment was surgery....I was also
advised that the condition is primarily a "vanity" one and that they had never
seen a ferret die from this.  I opted to not go with the surgery.
Has anyone else had the expeience of having a ferret with this condition,
and if so how did your ferret fair with or with out surgery?>>
 
Hi--I won't pretend in any way to know a lot about this; however, I did have
one ferret with a tumor on his kidney so I will share my experiences.
 
My first ferret was diagnosed with a tumor on his kidney at about age 4.  His
vet felt it was inoperable and that not much could be done about it.  At the
time I was devastated, as I thought he would die immediately  (I didn't know
what to expect).  However, he lived another 2 years after that, and even came
through an operation on his paw with no complications.  Toward the end of his
life he mostly slept, and yes, his abdominal area looked somewhat swollen
although he was quite thin and had lost a lot of hair.  He really did look like
a little old man.  But he never seemed to be in any pain, and he was always
incredibly loving and remained interested in eating right up until the end.  He
finally slipped into unconsciousness and died peacefully within a couple of
hours after that.
 
Again, this is just one ferret.  I think if I were you and were still worried,
I would seek a second opinion so you know for sure.  Good luck!
 
-- Ronnie  (Cinderella, Norm & Ralph's mom)
[Posted in FML issue 0993]