My vet asked me to post a question so I hope a vet here will answer as I
really dont want to let him down.  The only ferret knowledgeable vet left
town and he is taking over and trying best he can.  I gave him some stuff
off the net and he said he read it all.
 
He wants to know why a heartworm test is done on ferrets.  I had always
assumed (this was part of our conversation) that it was because giving
heartworm medicine to an animal would hurt it if it was already infected.
He said that used to be the case - heartworm medicine killed the worms so
fast they would dislodge from the heart whole and kill the animal.  He said
that the medicine no longer kills them so fast, allowing them to break up
before they cause a problem, plus there is other treatment I think if they
find an infection in dogs or cats (I'm not a vet, I'm paraphrasing what I
understood as his point).  Plus he wondered since only 1 or 2 worms would be
deadly for such a small animal, and since he wasn't sure if there was an
effective treatment for an already infected ferret, why test?  (Of course he
believes they should be on treatment).  Any knowledgeable replies for him?
 
Thanks Mary, Boris and Giesela
 
P.S.  Tracy - could you send me some flyers for the Michigan show I could
post around in the pet stores here in Battle Creek?  E-Mail me with your
phone number and I'll call and give you my address.  Also I know of a girl
in Kalamazoo who is looking for a shelter ferret to join her two.  She is
going to the show.
[Posted in FML issue 1733]