About a week ago, I posted about my two new little babies...Ozzy (2 yr. old
chocolate male, weighs a little under two pounds, very skinny) and Zeppelin
(4 yr.  old sable male with three visible skin tumors).  At first we weren't
even sure if they were mast cell tumors or something more serious like
lymphoma.  I had the tumors removed immediately after adopting him and he's
been all stitched up for the past 10 days.  He got his stitches removed last
night and the doctor gave him one more blood test...a "buffer" test or
something like that (sorry, I don't know the real technical term), where
they "spin" the blood and separate it and check to see if the mast cells
spread into the bloodstream.  The vet said even if the tumors that are
removed test negative for cancer, that there is still a chance that the
cells may have metasticized (sp?) into the blood stream and can spread to
the lymph glands, liver, bone marrow, etc.  I prayed and prayed and prayed
that we caught the tumors in time and WE DID!!!  He called this morning to
tell me that Zep is cancer free and seems to be as healthy as can be!  I
certainly have been blessed.  And, Zep weighed only about 2 lbs. a couple
weeks ago and now he weights 3 POUNDS!!  I'm so happy I could cry!  Ozzy is
also steadily gaining weight.  I just want to take this time to reiterate to
everyone the importance of taking your fuzzies to the vet IMMEDIATELY if you
detect something is wrong with them.  Please don't wait.  If you see bumps
on the skin, weight loss, weird poops, strange behavior...take them to the
vet right away.  If you don't, it might be too late when you do.  Also, if
you don't have the time or money to take care of a pet (whether it be a dog,
cat, ferret, frog, bird, etc.) please don't get one.  It's not fair to the
animal.  The people that owned Ozzy and Zep before me didn't get them their
shots, and claimed to "not see" the HUGE bump on Zep's hind foot and the
other two medium-sized, black and red encrusted bumps on his back.  Yeah,
sure...maybe if they were both blind I'd accept that answer.  Because of
their carelessness Zep could have died.  Thank god he didn't and thank god
we removed the tumors in time.  But many ferrets aren't so lucky.  Please be
careful with your babies and take good care of them!  They need us to make
sure they live long, happy, healthy lives!  Unfortunately, every day ferrets
come down with terminal diseases that cannot be cured and even the most
dedicated, loving and responsible owner can't do anything about it...but
there are plenty of times where there are warning signs that might save (or
prolong) your babies' lives if you catch them in time and do the right
thing.  Just my .02.  Thanks for listening!  And all your fuzzfaces thank
you too!  Last, but certainly not least, a BIG THANK YOU to Dr. Beeber at
the Rutherford Animal Hospital who operated on Zep.  He's the best vet in
world!  If you live in North Jersey and have ferrets, you should definitely
go to Dr. Beeber.  He's wonderful.
 
Jenni
Oso "If I told you once, I told you a 1,000 times, I AM NOT GOING to
that ferret show in Baltimore and you ARE NOT scraping my teeth and
cleaning my ears!"
Ozzy "Yum, yum, yum...more raisins, more Deliver, more treats, more
Ferretone, more, more, MORE!!!!"
Zep  "I don't know why you're hugging me so tight, screaming and jumping
up and down, but does this mean I can have extra raisins tonight?!"
[Posted in FML issue 2260]