Hi all,
 
    I was wondering if any one else has had this experience...  Last Tuesday
I noticed that one of my fuzzits, Buddy, was sleeping alot and when I took
him out of his cage that night he would walk a few steps and just lie down.
 
    Since he wasn't acting like himself, I called the vet and was able to
bring him in that night.  The doctor thought that his spleen seemed to be
enlarged (lymphsarcoma?  ) so he kept him overnight and did X-rays in the
morning.  The X-rays showed that his spleen was indeed enlarged and he had
an irritation in his intestines close to the stomach.  Then he performed
exploratory surgery to see if Buddy had cancer.  Luckily, everything inside
looked OK except that his spleen and something else (I forgot what he said)
was swollen.  Buddy also had blood in his urine and stools (not good!).  He
put Buddy on fluid therapy and penicillin injections.  The doctor thought he
had some sort of bacterial infection.
 
    I brought him home on Thursday evening with some Amoxi-Drops.  Buddy is
walking around but is still very weak from this whole ordeal.  I still don't
know what caused it (something he ate?) and my other three fuzzies haven't
been affected.  Could this be contagious?  I have Bud in a separate cage
right now so I can monitor his progress.  Is it alright to let him "play"
with the other 3 when they are out of their cage?  Should I keep Buddy quiet
or let him run around if he wants to?  I tried giving him duck soup made
with Ensure (that's all I could find at the store and the Ferret FAQ said it
was alright to use), but after drinking some he threw up and his poop came
out runny.  I have been giving him some Ferretone and his regular food (IAMs
kitten food).  He's eating some but not as much as I think he should be
eating.  He's been drinking his water frequently, though.  Any suggestions
to help speed his recovery?
 
Sorry this was so long,  but any input would be appreciated!
 
Sue (worried fuzzy mom) and the Fuzzy Four (Sammy, Tequila, Cinnamon and
Buddy)
 
for Manual, I'm 34 years old and I hope you are not near any of the
earthquakes!!
[Posted in FML issue 1352]