Hello everyone, I know I haven't posted in a while, but I've been
watching...  :) It looks like we have a new topic for debate.  Well, I
just wanted to voice my opinion on this anal gland subject.  Medically
speaking, they really do not serve any important function.  They
basically are used in the wild for "marking" territory.  Ferrets can
live with them OR without them.  So removing them is more for OUR
convenience.  As I have voiced in the past, I am not an advocate for
early (less than 6 months old) spaying and neutering - this also
includes descenting.  I feel that there could be physical
repercussions later in life.  But I realize that has yet to be proven.
In a recent newsletter I read, Dr.  Susan Brown wrote "other
occasional complications that we have seen in these early neutered
ferrets include: rectal prolapse due to damage to the sphincter
muscles around the anus when the anal glands were removed." I have
also seen a few notes on here about people buying kits that have
"swollen butts".  From the descenting???
 
However I do realize that there are "special" circumstances that might
warrant this surgery to be done.  In the practice that I work at, we have
removed anal glands due to continued infections.  (This seems to happen
more to dogs than ferrets.) And yes, if it came down to getting a good
home as opposed to euthanasia, I would suggest getting the surgery done.
I find myself telling that same thing to people who want to get their
cat's feet declawed also.  It is not a good situation for a pet to be in
when their owners have major resentments toward them for something that
is not their fault.  BUT, if descenting HAS to be done, then it is very
important that you have a vet who is experienced at doing this surgery
-and is also good at it!  :) - so it is done correctly the first time.
(Yes, I have heard of ferrets having to be done 2 or 3 times due to poor
technique!!  :()
 
As I would tell people at work, "If the smell of a ferret bothers you,
then maybe they are not the pet for you." Just my opinion - and I realize
we all have a right to express our own, but I also realize we sometimes
have to agree to disagree.
 
                  Mary McCarthy
                  Vice-President, F.F.U.N.Y
            (Ferrets and Friends of Upstate New York)
[Posted in FML issue 1153]