I took Molly to the Vet.  and he thinks that she does have a urinary tract
infection.  He palpated her (that is the term, right?) quite thoroughly (i
can't believe she put up with it!) and said that her kidneys felt fine and
that her bladder was empty and tucked up where it should be.  i did not
bring a sample with me (that wasn't absorbed into Kitty Litter) so he just
took a swab from around her vulva.  He said that that tested positive for
the presence of blood.
 
I am now giving her 5 drops of Amoxicillin, twice a day, for 10 days.  Then,
i will be bringing a urine sample back to him to be tested.
 
I figured he would want a sample, but i didn't know how to get one--i
thought that just letting her pee into an empty litter box wouldn't be
sterile enough.
 
But, in case any of you ever see blood in your baby's urine, this is what he
advised...place a plastic bag over top of the litter box and let the ferret
pee on that.  Then, if you happen to have one, suck the sample up into a
syringe (without the needle).  Try to get the sample to your Vet.  within an
hour.  If it will be longer, store it in the fridge until you are ready to
go.  If you don't have a syringe, maybe you could pour the sample into an
empty film canister.
 
Anyway, Molly seems to be doing just fine now (but it was very scarey to see
all that blood!!!).
 
Thanks Dr. Dutton for your advice!!
 
--Norma-ann
   President of SOFA
   and Mom to Molly, Leo, and Maggie.
[Posted in FML issue 1551]