Dear Iain,
 
Hello.  I am new to the list and just read my first digest.  My Ferret
(Pooter) had the same problem that yours seems to have when I first brought
him home.  Except that there were traces of blood.  Needless to say, that as
a new Ferret owner, I was quite concerned; and luckily enough, I had (and
have) a wonderful Vet right around the corner from me.  Apparently the cause
of this can be attributed to two things: one, he has an obstruction which he
cannot pass and is straining so much that he causes the protrusion.  Two, he
has eaten something which he shouldn't have and is having trouble passing it
(but there is no obstruction).  The second was the cause with my Ferret, and
the vet recommended that I not give him his Petromalt Hairball remedy until
the swelling had gone down, and that I give him a small dose of Kaopectate.
He also presribed a lotion to rub on the swollen area to ease the pain and
discomfort.
 
Of course, I watched out to see what he was eating that he should not have
been eating (which turned out to be my socks that he had dragged to his
little hiding place) and tried to make sure that he no longer ate them.  Yet,
his butt has swollen a few times since then, and one time was quite severe
and obviously causing him pain to the point where he was making noise (which
he doesn't do very often).  My vet said that if it became a chronic problem
that there was an operation that could help.  Gladly, it has not develloped
into a chronic problem for which I am extremely grateful.  I am eager to
hear, however, to hear what other members of the list have to say on the
matter.
 
Good luck with your Ferret and let me know how things turn out :-).
 
Dawn
 
P.S.  Let me say how glad I am that Michigan made Ferrets legal again!  My
wonderful little friend was a fugative from Michigan who was found "in the
wild" (obviously turned loose by his previously owners in response to the
ban) and luckily found and brought to the Greater Chicago Ferret Association
where he found me and decided that I was to be his Mom.  There are many tales
that I could tell of the adjustments he had to make to being around
humans--tales which make me very angry at the thought of how he must have
lived and been treated prior to his having found a home!  Hopefully, no more
Ferrets in Michigan will be subjected to being abandoned "in the wild" now.
[Posted in FML issue 1124]