Hello everyone, my name is Tina and I just joined the FML yesterday.  I
own 2 ferrets, Dino (2 yr old male) and Neely (4.5 year old female), and
they've been in great health since I have had them.  Over the Easter
weekend, Dino had (to us) suddenly developed a severe anemia/RBC loss, and
on Sunday upon returning from an overnight trip, we noticed his nose, gums,
and pads were deathly white.  He was quite tired and lethargic, and because
of this was not eating too much (he'd rather sleep!).  We brought him to
Tufts hospital in Grafton, MA, which did nothing to help us at all except
drain us $125 for nothing.  Their exotics vet recently left employment
there, and the substitute was no help to us.
 
We then tracked down the wonderful ferret vet, Dr. Karen Purcell, in Rhode
Island and were able to schedule a non-routine visit with her on Tuesday.
She noticed his eyes had developed cataracts (remember he's only 2) and his
spleen was enlarged (that's probably where the blood has gone to).  A blood
test on Monday (through another vet hospital) revealed a PCV (packed cell
volume) of 12 (it should be between 40-45).  His temp, HR, breathing were
all normal, and he was still eating some and drinking some.  A slight
"hacking" or little cough occurs when he is first picked up, but then that
goes away.  Dr. Purcell is thinking bone marrow disease (where red blood
cells are formed) and/or some kind of cancer (lymphoma?), and also the
possibility of a bleeding ulcer (although there has been no blood seen in
his stool).  Currently he is on Biomox (amoxicillin), Carafate (to coat his
stomach and ease the pain of an ulcer), and Bioxin (forget right now what
that's for).  He is also eating Duck Soup 4X a day, and after 3 feedings is
finally trying to "enjoy" it.  This Duck Soup has been altered a little,
in that it also contains ground fresh beef liver to aid in iron
supplementation.  However, even though you "up" the iron ingestion, you
still need adequate amounts of red blood cells to carry that iron....
 
A blood transfusion is entirely feasible, as Dr. Purcell has access to a 7
POUND FERRET (that sounds monstrous to me!!) who can donate easily.  But
we still need to find out the "why" in this situation, and I would value
anyone's experiences and advice on this.  I trust Dr. Purcell 100% and I am
very very happy with her.  What I am looking for now is owner's advice and
experiences (and also any other vets who'd like to contribute thoughts and
ideas--they are definitely welcomed!!)...
 
Please e-mail me or respond via the list for any other owners having the
same problem.  My fiance and I are sick with heartache and it's the most
frustrating not knowing WHY this is happening...
 
Thanks in advance, I appreciate your time.  Oh, and if someone could post
the "rainbow" poem, it would be helpful to us to read it and keep it
handy... thank you again...
 
 -Tina and Jeffrey
(and Dino the big sweet lug, and Neely the
demonchild-ferretvet-ankle-biter)
[Posted in FML issue 2641]