Hi Phyllis, I know what you're going through.  My first ferret was Snoop.
She lived almost 9 years (I had had her since she was 6 weeks old).  She
was never sick a day in her life until she turned 8.  She started to get
lazy, which I just thought was because she was a senior in ferret years.  A
few weeks later I noticed that she had this clear slime coming out of her
nose, mouth and bum; and her head had started to bob up and down.  I took
her to the vet, and they did some bloodwork on her and we found out that
her blood sugar level was at 30% of what it should be.  She was put on
Pediapred and then later switched to Prednisone.  It was insulinoma.  She
was fine for almost the full year after we started treatment.  Then one day
I came home and went to spend some time with her, I sat down next to her
bed and went to gently wake her up and the minute I touched her she went
into a massive seizure.  I started to freak and scream for my boyfriend, we
put her in a towel and ran to the vet (3 minute walk from our house, but I
swear we made it there in 5 seconds).  The vet took her into the exam room
and gave her something to try to get the seizure to stop, but it wouldn't,
my baby was put to sleep 20 minutes later.  That was just over a year ago
and I still miss her.
 
I think that for most the pain eventually lessens, but it never truly goes
away, we always remember these little guys and the joy they brought into
our lives and that in itself makes the pain easier to bear.  A ferret can
bring such joy to their human companions, the way the look at you, play
with you and just act silly, that you can never forget them.
 
I now have 2 other ferrets Oscar and Miko, and I haven't had any problems
with them, other than Miko almost breaking her arm when she fell out of her
hammock.  And with Oscar, he's got a bad hip.  I call him my stolen ferret.
He was in a pet store for the first 1 1/2 years of his life and he was
being abused.  I walked in on the pet store owner hitting him and throwing
him into his cage.  I walked up to the cage, picked Oscar up and walked out
of that store.  We took him to the vet and he needed a lot of fixing, He
had a lot of infections and sores.  His teeth had been filed down and due
to the fact that the root canal work hadn't been done, they were starting
to rot.  Needless to say that pet store was closed down and is now open
under new ownership.  The new guy knows his stuff.
 
We only have these little sweethearts for a short time in our lives and one
day we will all be reunited with them.
 
Isabelle
[Posted in FML issue 2567]