We would like to thank the vets who replied regarding Whidbey's swollen
vulva.  Also, we appreciated everyone's concern about her not being taken to
see a vet (I'm not sure if some of the statements were directed at us or
not) but she does already have a scheduled appointment.  We were just
looking for some supplimentary info before we went in.  In the meantime we
have been watching her VERY carefully - & so far absolutely no other signs
of illness.
 
When we lived in BC, we had a fabulous vet, who we could call anytime or be
seen on extremely short notice if needed.  But here in eternal winterland
(Quebec), we aren`t that fortunate.  The clinic we go to now came highly
recommended (but somewhat impersonal) & there is one Dr.  that specializes
in ferrets but happens to be on vacation, so we will be seeing someone else.
 
The last time Whidbey had this problem about 6 months ago, again our regular
vet was on vacation & we saw another dr., who offered several possiblities
as to what may be the cause, but suggested the best course of action would
be exploritory surgury which automatically gave me a big lump in my stomach.
 
After putting 2 previous ferts (with very different problems) through that,
without much success, I have a hard time submitting my little girl to being
cut open if it may not be necessary (not to mention convincing my SO).
 
In the meantime, we have changed her litter from the clumping kind to
recycled newspaper pellets in hopes that it could be as simple as that (one
can always hope can`t they?).  Also, I have scoured the medical faq & will
be bringing any pertinet info w/ us to the vet.  We'll keep you posted.
 
To Debbie Riccio: Thanks for your concern over Whidbey's diet & sorry if we
misled you to think that we actually feed her dog food.  She does like to
steal & stock-pile it though!!  I know that she does eat a little bit, but
we have been trying to limit her access to the dogs bowls & have raided her
major hiding places.  I think she might have been getting bored of her Iams
cat food so we are now giving her a choice of just ferret food or a
ferret/cat food combo.
 
Thanks again everyone, & I hope I haven't been too long winded.
 
Edith Dubois & co.
 
ps.  She is also a tail wagger, but only if extremely excited or trying to
get into someplace that she knows she shouldn't be(ex. trying to climb
window screens), in which the sound of her tail usually gives her away :)
[Posted in FML issue 1496]