The shelter's bursting (for us!), with a few new intakes just this week...
word's really out there, finally.  Anyway, I wanted to report a found
ferret in Westbrook, Maine.  I'm not giving his description as yet--still
waiting to hear from possible owners--but he is a "he," and, aside from a
nasty tick infestation that has us stumped (we remove them all, then find
more the next day), he seems fine.  He was found by a genuine animal lover
who simply couldn't drive by when she saw a little fert on the side of the
road.  (Michelle, if by some chance you're reading this, you're a wonderful
person, and Kismet's doing fine.)
 
I also have a question about someone else's ferret.  He's a Marshall
ferret, two years old, and all his life he's had periodic boil-like growths
directly to one side of his anus.  The first time it happened, the owner
took him to the vet, who said that an error had been made when he was
descented and that part of a scent gland was causing trouble.  He drained
the cyst.  He also said that removing whatever tissue remnant was there
would be almost impossible.
 
The cyst regrows about every three to four months, and the owner drains it
herself each time; she has experience with human patients, so ferret ones
aren't much harder to deal with.  :-) She said that there is never any
odor at all, and the fluid that comes out is clear, not milky or greenish.
The fuzzy in question never shows any sign that anything's wrong at all--
doesn't act in pain, just has one day of loose stools the day the thing
comes to a head.
 
Anyone?  Is this familiar?  I suggested the woman see another vet
(reccommended mine) just in case a new doctor would see something
different.  Her real concern is not the amount of work involved; she just
really wants to know if this could potentially be a serious health hazard
for her fuzzy.  She's not online, so any replies will be digested by me
(yum!) before she gets them.
 
I must say I'm curious too.  Sounds pretty weird to me.  :-)
 
Thanks, all!
Jen and the Crazy Business
[Posted in FML issue 2798]