Hi All,
 
The bottom line is that Taos is going to keep her tail for at least a while
longer.  We are just going to try washing it every day and putting vit E on
it.  We will see if that helps.  Thanks to Regina Harrison and Mary Nelson
Steeves I asked the vet a bunch of questions when I took her in this
morning, and decided that amputation was not really necessary.  Thanks!!
 
The reason we jumped to amputation... Taos has always had a paralyzed tail.
We have no Idea what happened, whether it happened before we got her or soon
after she was with us.  But for as long as she has been around she has only
been able to move the top 1/2 inch of her tail.  In the beginning she did
have feeling in it.  Now she has none.  So it is getting worse.  I was under
the impression that it was going to continue to get worse.  Right now she
has circulation through the whole tail, but that could change.  If that was
going to be the out come, amputation was the option, to insure that the tail
would not just die on her.  But upon asking the vet a bunch of questions it
didn't seem that was what was going to happen.  Instead the worst was that
the trauma from dragging it around was going to get it very dirty, maybe
ulcers, open sores, that kind of thing.  So as long as the circulation
remains in her tail and we keep it clean we will keep her tail.  If our
washing does not improve things in a month or so we will re think it all
again.
 
The bottom line is to ask questions.  With out the FML Taos would be a
bob-tailed ferret.  Because her tail is paralyzed, I just assumed that the
next step was amputation.  I didn't even think to ask the questions about
normal ferret tail problems.  Thanks again
 
Sue and her frenzy of 5
Elbert, Taos, Izzy, Hugo and Sammie
[Posted in FML issue 2047]