Steve,
Hi, I am just now catching up on all my mail and saw your post about Mica!
I wish this is not the case, but my girl was just diagnosed with squamous
cell carcinoma in her mouth and though it started in her pallet and is
fairly rare in ferrets, I know that if it effects the jaw it will produce
the exact symptoms you were describing.  And unfortunately this is such an
aggressive cancer it will appear and act very suddenly like you described.
I know with my girl she had to have a tooth extracted and then ~2 weeks
later she had a huge lesion in the roof of her mouth, which is how the
cancer first manifested itself...I just couldn't believe she went from
being completely healthy to having that cancer eating away at her mouth in
such a short time!  It might be too late but I think you should have it
biopsied.  Though it is aggressive, I have heard that it usually does not
spread quickly in ferrets.  So there still might be hope.  I know this
sounds horrible, but with my girl they were able to remove more than half
of her pallet (surgery is the only hope of a cure) and I the surgeon that
did it has done this type of surgery on many animals (even removing part of
the jaw, which it sounds like is where your little one has it) and they
learn to adapt and eat and drink fine and live pain-free lives.
Unfortunately I don't think there are many vets that know how to do this.
I searched all over my state to find someone to help me and it ended up
being at a vet school at a university, they were amazing...if you have a
good vet school in your state you might want to contact them...or I can
give you the name of my doctors so at least your vet can consult with them.
I really hope this is not the case with your fuzzy and I hate to scare you
with this info, but when my girl was diagnosed no one had heard of this
cancer in ferrets much less a treatment option and I just want as many
people as possible to be aware of this cancer and its symptoms.  I do have
to tell you though that it might be too late and they might not be able to
do anything, especially if she is already having trouble swallowing, and it
might have moved into the lymph system.
 
I am sorry this message is probably completely unintelligible, but it
breaks my heart to think of a little fuzzy suffering so and I hate that
more people are not aware of this cancer, because if caught in time it can
be treated.  I was so lucky that I had great resources available to me, but
I know others are not as lucky.  And I remember how devastated I was when
they diagnosed my girl and I was told by 2 vets that there was nothing that
could be done.  So I just want to ask all you fuzzy lovers to please check
your ferrets over weekly for things like red patches on their skin, and
sores or swelling in and around their mouth and jaw, and if you discover
anything bring them to your vet right away to get a biopsy.  I know it is
rare for ferrets to get squamous cell, but it does happen and there is
something you can do about it.  And feel free to email me at
[log in to unmask] anytime if you want more information (I am not an
expert but I can tell you anything I know).  Ok, before I completely break
down I will end this message now.
 
Jenna
[Posted in FML issue 2882]