One of my guy's hasn't been eating his own food for close to a month
now, and I'm beginning to get desperate....  Here's the details.  (Sorry so
long.)
    A month ago Fezzik (2 yr old MF ferret) suddenly got a huge swelling on
his behind.  It consisted of a hard internal swelling and a "surfacy" bump
where it seemed to have come to a head.  The surfacy part was an ugly shade
of purple, and looked quite painful, although Fez was hardly fazed.  He also
seemed to be running a fever.  We rushed him to the vet, who examined it and
lanced it.  The vet (Dr.  T) said that given the fever, the sudden
onslaught, and the fact that pus was released after lancing, it appeared to
be a localized infection, not a tumor.  But he said that he couldn't be sure
at this point that there wasn't a tumor under the surface that was causing
the infection, and suggested that we use amoxi-drops for a week and then
re-examine it.  The surfacy aspect of it cleared up right away; the hard,
internal swelling stayed the same for a few days, and then finally began to
shrink.  When we went back in a week later, Dr.  T.  was quite encouraged by
the fact that the internal swelling had shrunk so much.  He said that had it
been a tumor, it shouldn't have shrunk, and might have increased in size
over the week.
    Given that it didn't appear to be a tumor, he didn't want to operate.
It's pressed up fairly close to the anal tract, making it a difficult place
for surgery, and since it was shrinking with the amoxi, it didn't seem
necessary.  We agreed to use the amoxi for another week and call in with
reports every 3 days or so.  We also agreed that should it begin to swell
back up at any time, we'd immediately bring him in for surgery.
    By this time, it became apparent that Fez wasn't eating.  When the whole
thing started, we hadn't been surprised at his lack of appetite, attributing
it to his generally feeling unwell.  We assumed that as soon as we took care
of the swelling, he'd start back up.  But with the swelling decreasing, the
fact that he wasn't starting to eat became a major concern.  He'd been
somewhat chubby at first, so he wasn't skin and bones, but he had lost
weight.  Dr T wondered if he'd associated being sick with his food, but he
wouldn't try any other brands, either.  Fez will drink sustacal, although he
needs to be offered it by hand, and encouraged.  Since he normally likes to
try and steal a dog kibble or two (the joys of anything forbidden!), we
tried giving him "opportunities" to steal them more often.  In this manner
we can get him to eat 3-4 dog kibbles a day, generally.  (I know dog food
isn't appropriate for ferrets, but it's solid, and better than nothing...
He won't touch his Iams or Pro-Plan, or Nature's Recipe, & I already know he
doesn't like TF).  His stools became mostly liquid, since he was on a mostly
liquid diet, suggesting that he wasn't just sneaking his food when we
weren't watching.  He's not dehydrated, drinking plenty of water.
    We continued in this manner for some time, with little change.  After
another week on amoxi, we stopped the antibiotics.  The swelling didn't
increase, but neither had it continued to decrease.  We went back in to the
vet.  Dr.  T did a needle probe and found that the lump (now about a
centimeter in diameter) was full of pus; that is, it appeared that the body
had encapsulaeed the infection, but that it still was just an infection.  Dr
T also took x-rays, to make sure there weren't any signs of bony growths,
and to check on the size of the lymph nodes along the spine (apparently
normal).  We switched to a new antibiotic, Baytril, which Dr T said had a
broader spectrum and also was good at getting in to hard, encapsulated
swellings like we were seeing here.
    It's now been a week on the Baytril, with no change.  The swelling does
not appear to pain him in any way, but he still will only eat a couple dog
kibbles a day and his sustacal.  I'm trying to hold back these offerings
until later in the day, hoping that he'll start eating his own food if he's a
little hungry.  But its now been a month all told.  Dr T has no suggestions
about his not eating; he says the swelling shouldn't be resulting in this,
and wonders if something else is wrong.  If so, surgery on the lump would
likely make little difference; but perhaps we're wrong about this.  Fez *is*
eating enough to keep his weight up, but I worry about how long he can live
on stuff not nutritionally designed for ferrets.  I'd be grateful for any
advice anyone has.  (Note: the other 2 ferrets are fine, and eating normally,
so it doesn't appear to be a contagious disease, or that the food is bad, or
anything else that would affect more than just him.  Fez still plays
normally, although his metabolism has slowed down a bit, in keeping with the
lower intake).
 
-Rochelle
[Posted in FML issue 1251]