Hi All,
 
I haven't posted in a while - Life has been too hectic lately.  I have a
few questions I was hoping some of you may be able to help me with.  All
3 of my ferrets are having problems - UGGH.  Especially since my vet
doesn't really know what one of the problems is.
 
First Up: My Deaf Ferret (she is 6 years old) - Or "Deaf One" - pathetic
name I know <smile> -- She was diagnosed in September 2004 with an
adrenal tumor - I started her on Luperin shots every month until I could
afford the surgery for her.  She had the adrenal tumor removed in March
2005 and has been doing really well but about a week and a half ago I
noticed that her neck is swollen on both sides - which makes her fur
stand out almost like a cobra's neck.  I took her to my vet last thursday
and my vet (Dr. Goodman - Small Animal Specialist in Aston, PA) said that
she had never seen a ferret's neck swollen like that.  She did notice
that she had a little blood around her behind but there is no blood in
her stool.  She also had a fever (ferret average temp is 101.5 - her temp
was 105).  She has been taking the medicine for the past 10 days but the
swollen has not gone down.  She is not acting sick - still running around
and playing etc.  I called and left a message for my vet but I really
can't afford to take her back to the vet at this moment if it is not
anything really major - since I do have major problems with another
ferret right now that is eating up all my money.  I have spent close to
$1500 in the past 2 months on my ferrets and actually getting ready to
spend $500 on an ultrasound tomorrow on another ferret - so I am
strapped.  I was just wondering if anybody on the list have had a similar
problem with a ferret as I described above - or know what the problem may
be?  If I have to go back to the vet I was hoping I could tell her that
another ferret had a similar problem etc.  instead of running numerous
expensive tests.
 
2) Wally (He is 7 1/2 years old) - my male ferret I noticed about three
months ago I noticed he lost a lot of weight - He does this every spring
and gains it back in the summer so I didn't think too much about it until
about a month ago when he started to drag his back legs every once in a
while.  I made him an appointment with my vet and she said that he
sounded like he had a heart problem and that I should take him to get
an ultrasound to see if he can be put on medication etc.  It has taken
me 2 weeks to get an appointment with a heart specialist.  I am taking
him tomorrow at 3:30 - hopefully his heart problem will be okay with
medication.  He is still so skinny - I have been feeding him Science Diet
A/d which has been helping.  I was wondering if anyone on the list has a
ferret with a heart problem so I know what to expect - it is so hard
watching him waste away like this.
 
3) Cuca (She is my rescue ferret who I have had for 6 years - she is at
least 8-9 years old now) Last year she lost all of her hair so I took
her to the vet.  The vet felt her stomach and felt a really large tumor.
At the time the vet told me with her age and the size of the tumor she
would only give her a 50/50 to survive surgery - she also warned that
she couldn't be sure if the tumor was on the good or bad side and if she
opened her up and it was on the bad side that she would stitch her back
up - the vet thought that with her age and the size of the tumor that she
may be too weak to survive the surgey.  So instead of doing surgery - I
opted to give her monthly Luperin shots - and spoil her until she passed
away - I thought quality of life was much more important than quantity of
life.  So I set about spoiling her and giving her tons of extra love -
that was over a year ago - actually 1 year 3 months - she has been going
in for monthly Luperin shots and check up to make sure that her tumor
hasn't hit any internal organs etc.  She far surpassed both the vet and
my imagination - of course now I feel guilty thinking that she may have
been strong enough for the surgery last year - but then again she may
have died and at least she has had another year to live.  The problem is
the tumor has not stopped growing and now it looks like she has a tennis
ball in her belly - she has still been playing and eating etc.  but I
just noticed that sometimes her legs slide out from beneath (This mostly
happens when she is in my kitchen on the limoleum - she seems okay in her
cage) when she is eating I guess the belly is getting to heavy for her
sometimes to carry.  She still doesn't seem to be in any pain and she
does still play.  A few nights ago though I thought she was going to
die - she was out of her cage playing and she fell over on her side
and just laid there - she would get up and run again and then fall to
her side again and lay there.  I wrapped her up in a pillow case and
made her as comfortable as I thought I could and placed her in her cage -
after crying half the night I thought for sure she would be gone by the
morning - but I awoke to her up and waiting for her can food.
 
I guess I just wanted to know am I being cruel keeping her alive like
this?  Sometimes I think I am being selfish I keep saying that she isn't
in pain - at least that I know of so she is okay.  Has anyone on the list
gone through a similar problem with a ferret?  Once again what should I
be looking for to know is she is in pain, etc.  The vet just keeps
telling me to monitor her eating, playing, and bathroom activit ies which
are all still fine.  But I think sometimes ferret owners know more than
the vets.  I really don't want to put her to sleep - I always think that
is the extreme last choice - but once again I don't want to be cruel and
make her suffer an extremely painful death.  Does anyone have an opinion
or experience like this?
 
Thanks
Jen
[Posted in FML issue 4914]