I would like to share a story with everyone in the hopes that it helps
you think about the simplest thing...hairballs.
 
Sox, Bandit and Doyle came into our shelter October 16, 2002.  They are
all around 4-5 years old.  We noticed that Sox was real tired and would
just lay down out in the open.  We thought maybe it had to do with his
age but upon feeling his stomach we felt something there.  He was eating
and drinking just fine though.  We gave him some ferret tone to see if
that would help and he just threw it up.
 
Oct 17 they all went in for their vet appointment.  An x-ray was done on
Sox.  The vet found a hairball.  We decided to do surgery because we felt
that he would not pass it on his own.  He just seemed to get weaker.  On
Oct 18 he had surgery to remove a 2 inch hairball.  His stomach had
expanded so much to accommodate it and some food that it was stretched to
it's limits.  He came through the surgery just fine and is now bouncing
around like mad.
 
Bandit also slept a lot but didn't seem to be "sick".  We kept an eye
on him and gave him ferret tone and hairball stuff.  We figured it was
because of his age or that he was a little sad.  But after watching Sox
act the same way we decided to feel his belly and found a "lump".  What
also started us worrying was in the last day he hasn't been eating.  He
has been throwing the food out of his bowl and "searching" for something,
like treats.  Something that was easy to eat.  So, off to the vet he
went.  He is there now as I write this.  He had an x-ray done and the vet
thinks he also has a hairball.  She is putting a lot of fluid into him in
the hopes that it passes on it's own.  If not, then tonight or tomorrow
he will go in for surgery.
 
These two came in "looking" healthy.  Their coats were great and they
were well taken care of (except lack of time out of cage).  We were
lucky...we had warning signs.  We try hard to watch the ferrets and any
change that may happen with them.  Sometimes it is the small things that
we see that let us know something could be wrong.
 
Please, give your babies hairball treatment and ferret tone.  Maybe as
they age they have a harder time processing things, or maybe it just
builds up.  Either way, make sure to pay attention to them and the small
warning signs that they can put out.
 
Zorro taught us that.  He came to the shelter and within 3 weeks he had
crossed to the bridge.  He had lymphoma and it was in the advanced
stages.  We pay close attention to those that come in...and those that
are already here in the hopes that this never happens again.  We might
not have been able to save Zorro....but we have saved several since his
short visit to us.
 
Any other hairball stories out there that you would like to share with
the FML?
 
Joanne
Ferret Corner Shelter
www.geocities.com/ferretcorneraz
[Posted in FML issue 3979]