Hi
 
I have a situation and I don't know what to do about it.  My (I'm guessing)
7 year old ferret Gavin has developed a weird cyst-like growth on his
abdomen.  Gavin is a deaf marked white, who has been a pillar of health
since I adopted him almost four years ago until just recently.  He
developed this lump about the size of the end of a thumb on his belly, near
the hip joint.  I took him in to my new vet about 1 1/2 weeks ago.  She
drained about 3 cc's of clear fluid out of it.  By the time he was back in
the exam room, the "cyst" had filled up again to be the same size.  So the
vet drained it again, but this time it was bloody.  She looked at it (the
fluid she drained) under a microscope and didn't detect any cancerous cell.
 
Then a CBC was done, with normal results.  An X-ray was taken and the
only thing was an enlarged liver.  No fluid was seen, just a large liver.
Since bringing him home, he has been acting normal.  But his stomach looks
bloated.  It feels kind of like a water balloon, where if you poke it with
your finger, it "pops" out in another.  The "cyst" is still there, and
hasn't grown in size at all.  I have been talking to my old vet and my new
vet on an almost daily basis.  The only thing health-wise that has been
happening in my family is that my 4 1/2 month old (human) son had walking
pneumonia about the same time that this "cyst" was noticed.  I also had a
sinus infection about the same time.
 
Has anyone ever had this before?  Does anyone have any ideas?  My husband
and I have already decided that we are not going to do any sort of surgery
because of his age.  My vet is willing to do more diagnostic testing, but
I don't want to spend a lot of money if this is just simply the "beginning
of the end" of his life.  If that is the case, then I will help him over
the bridge when he no longer seems to be enjoying life.  Please don't
email and flame me for not doing surgery, I just simply don't want him to
suffer.  If you have any advice, please email me directly at
[log in to unmask] as I am behind on my FMLs.
 
Thank you in advance
Lori
[Posted in FML issue 3591]