Dear Naomi:
 
>bindie is 5 years old and a real sweety and buddie is about 2 he is blind
>and deaf and has an enlarged heart... my poor little buddie he has been
>coughing really badly for the past 2 months i have had him to the vet and
>the vet said its because of his enlarged heart and cant tell me how long
>he has left i had him at the vet again today because he was coughing up
>blood the vet said that its because he is coughing so hard that he is
>making himself bleed i was told to take him home and watch him and have
>been given the choice as weather or not to send him to the rainbow bridge
>there is nothing more the vet can do for him the vet says he isnt in any
>pain...
 
Has your vet done any testing to show that his heart is enlarged, and has
any treatment for heart disease been suggested or performed?  You don't
mention it in your post - it seems as if all the vet has done is see the
coughing, pronounce heart disease, and throw up their hands.
 
Cardiomyopathy is a treatable disease in ferrets which may extend a
lifespan.  However, the longer it has been going on, the worse it generally
is, and the more resistant to treatment.  Veterinarians can use a
combination of digitalis, diuretics and vasodilators today to markedly
lengthen the avergae life span of ferrets with heart disease.  They are
not going to be nearly as long as healthy ferrets, but several months to
a year of quality time is nothing to shrug off.
 
More info on this case would be appropriate in another post, and if this
is truly all that your vet did - you may want to find another vet in your
area who would want to take a shot at more traditional diagnosis and
treatment....
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3217]