Hi everyone!
I have written to this list in the past and have always gotten good support
and advice, so I figured that I would try again now.  I have 5 ferrets, 3
girls, Nala, Chalky, and Tasia and 2 boys, Gavin and Loco.
 
My Nala girl is about 3 (maybe a little older, not exactly sure).  She was
adopted from a shelter last July and since that time has been costing me a
lot of money due to her sickness.  I don't mind the money part, it would
just be nice to get everything straight with her and be able to watch her
enjoy life.  It seems that my vet isn't exactly sure how to treat her, so
maybe you all can give me some advice.
 
Here is a little background for her -
 
Last year at the shelter, Nala was found to have adrenal cancer.  She
weighs right around 1 pound and has very rough brittle fur.  She was a
little spaz when she was there and i just fell in love with her - jumping
and dooking and living life on fast-forward.
 
The shelter put her through Dr. Wagner's Lupron study, which appeared to
stop (or is it cure, I really didn't want to say that, though) the adrenal
cancer.  Her fur began to grow back, but is still brittle and her vulva
returned to a normal size.  After she completed the study, I brought Nala
home with me (7-4-99).
 
Immediately, she began to act very lethargic.  She was no longer the spaz
that I once knew, rather, she was much more content just sitting on my lap
or shouldar, but not running or jumping or playing like she used to.  I
knew better than to think that I had just adopted my dream lap ferret!  On
top of the lethargy, Nala was wheezing quite a bit.
 
My vet thought she might have had a cold, prescribed her a course of
antibiotics and benedryl to help in cse of allergies.  This did not help,
rather the benedryl made her do nothing but sleep.
 
I took her back to my vet who did a blood test on her for several ferret
ailments (insolinoma, and something else) both came back in normal ranges.
 
An x-ray revealed that her heart was the size of her little chest cavity.
My vet diagnosed her with cardio____(myopathy?) and she began taking lasix.
 
The wheezing improved but her lethargy remained.  She seemed healthy enough
but I didn't like giving her the lasix because of the lethargy so after 2
months I stopped and she seemed fine, even more energetic.  I had a hard
time believing that she had cardio because she showed none of the classic
symptoms, she weighed barely a pound and there was no bulginess or anything
on her little body.  She was only around 2 1/2 then.  And the shelter
owners told me that she had never had a problem with wheezing for the year
that she had been there.
 
Well, last month, my Nala-girl managed to get her head stuck in our desk.
She almost died and it was a very dramatic and scary moment for us.  By the
time we got her head out of this space that was no bigger than 3/4 inch,
she was barely breathing and frothing at the mouth and completely listless.
We called the emergency clinic in our area (of course this was during the
weekend) and took her in.  I was scared that she had broken her neck or was
otherwise injured beyond shock.
 
Nala's breathing had been sort of crackling immediately after the accident.
Again, she was x-rayed and suffered no injuries from the accident beyond a
bruised neck, which she was given pregnisone for.
 
Over this past month, Nala again is quite lethargic, the crackling in her
breathing remains, AND her vulva is the size of a cherry and is about that
red as well.  Poor thing.
 
I took her back to my vet this past weekend and she told me that the stress
from the accident could have caused her vulva to become swollen.  She
suggested putting her back on the lasix and watching her for 2 weeks and
see if it goes back down.
 
Well, it has been about 5 days since that appt and Nala has become very
aggressive.
 
She has bitten me a number of times, 4 times drawing blood (she has never
bitten me before).  I can't even walk around her bare-foot or I end up with
a bloody toe.  My hands, arms, anything that she can get at, she bites.
The other night, after I put all the guys to bed, I heard my deaf little
boy, Loco, scream.  I ran into their room and saw Nala's teeth attached to
Loco's face.  I had to scruff her and wait for her mouth to open to get her
off of him.
 
He was okay, not bleeding or even marked, but obviously, I am sure that he
didn't know what was going on.  They were NOT playing and this has never
happened before that I know of.  Loco is not a vocal ferret unless he is
POed at someone for taking away a favorite treat or in pain because of
something like that.
 
So, what do you all think?  Is it stress, adrenal, cardio?  Am I being
paranoid, I don't think so, but....
 
Also, I live in Pittsburgh, PA.  Anyone who knows of a fab vet with lots of
ferret experience would be greatly appreciated so that I can get her looked
at by someone else.
 
Thanks for listening!
 
Lisa and Nala
[Posted in FML issue 2963]