To Lorraine Thompson:
 
> Does anyone know if ferrets can have allergies?  ...  The vet said her
>lungs were clear and there were no signs of any physical distress.  She had
>a slightly elevated temperature so the vet put her on antibiotics.  I went
>the full course but the noise continued.  I ended up taking her to the vet
>AGAIN because the noise got louder.  Again nothing--the vet said something
>about loose cartilage in the throat area.  Anyone ever heard of this?
 
Lorraine: Ferrets can certainly have asthma or bronchitis - allergies is a
more difficult condition to diagnose.  I have had one ferret with
bronchitis, who got it twice, both times at the end of spring when the
house AC started up.  I have also seen a few other ferrets with bronchitis.
We generally treat for a few weeks with a drug called Theodor - a
long-acting bronchodilator, and it tends to resolve in a week or two.
 
    I'm sure that ferrets, like most other mammals, occasionally get
allergies, but to what I'm not sure.  If the same problem happens again
next year, I would suspect an allergic/bronchitic problem.
 
I am not familiar with laryngeal cartilage problems in ferrets (although we
do see them in dogs and horses.)
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
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Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1278]