>One of those ferrets, Waldo, is now having problems urinating.  Sometimes
>he goes repeatedly, a little bit at a time; other times he strains several
>times before it finally comes out.... Now my vet wants to get a blood test
>to rule out adrenal disease.  My question is, how likely is this to be
>adrenal disease if this and aggressiveness are the only symptoms he has?
 
Becky...
 
About a month ago, I posted a pretty detailed post about ferrets with
blocked urethra problems.  Here it is again.
 
Blocked/plugged urethra (Indicated by trouble urinating in male ferrets)
is caused almost always by a bladder infection.  (Which is true in your
case..the antibiotics given by your vet worked for a bit!) The bladder
infection is almost always caused by a badly swollen prostrate gland, which
is almost always caused by an adrenal gland problem.  Remember, hair loss
is not always present in adrenal involvment.
 
The bladder infection will keep coming back.  with a fury!  If not taken
care of, it WILL kill your ferret.  Tell your vet to assume the adrenals
are involved and proceed from there!
 
MC  (The Rude One)
[Posted in FML issue 2286]