Kili and Bumblebee are 11 week old MF babies and I am *VERY* interested in
following a debate on the subject.
 
My first two were not MF, from different breeders, and had two totally
opposite health histories.  Tasslehoff was from a pet store (no idea what
breeder) and was always in and out of the vet's office.  She was fixed and
descented but went into heat after only a couple of years.  The vet said it
was "a non-ovarian source of estrogen," did an exploratory and found
nothing.  We had to keep an eye on Tas and give her shots to bring her out
of heat a couple times a year.  At about six years old she developed an
enlarged spleen and eventually we were told that cancer was attacking her
lymph glands ..  an emergency surgery gave her almost another year with me
until she could bear it no longer and had to be put to sleep.
 
Marmalade on the other hand was from a nasty "backyard breeder" (the
ferts were all in a dirty bathtub when I got her) but never went to the
vet except for shots and maybe once or twice for a cold. She died
peacefully in her sleep when she was eight.
 
I don't want my little Kili and Bumblebee to be cancer victims like my Tas.
She was a fighter but she lived a kind of shadow-life after the cancer
diagnosis -- her weight fluctuated a lot, two surguries..  she was just not
very happy.
 
I wouldn't want another little spud to go through that.  I did not intend to
buy MF ferrets -- they were the cutest ones we found and just happened to be
MF.
 
So let's hear some opinions -- and someone let me know the early warning
signs, what to look for, etc.  I want to take care of them the best way I
know how.
 
Thank you all for sharing your ideas and stories.. I have learned so much!
 
Melissa A. Durfee
[Posted in FML issue 1732]