FOR CHRIS TO PASS ON TO LIA:
 
Hi,
 
I just went through losing a ferret to the same cancer.  We adopted Jasper
from a shelter Dec.  22nd we think she was around 6 years old.  At the time
she showed no signs of the cancer even though she had just had a benign
tumor removed from her tail.  Three months later she was lethargic and began
losing hair all over.  The doctor and we dicided not to put her through
surgery due to her age and low weight.  We kept her on duck soup - sometimes
feeding her with a seringe (sp) to get her to eat - once she came around she
ate on her own.
 
She was on some type of steroid to keep the swelling down in the gland, she
slept a lot, and during this time always wanted to be held and since I was
in my first trimester of my first pregnancy I was more than happy to cuddle
with her all evening until bed-time.
 
One thing we learned during this time was that changes were very difficult
for Jasper.  I don't know if it was due to her being abandoned and then
adopted and loved by us or the disease but anytime we went away and either
took her with us (for a weekend) or left her home to be watched by someone
else she got much worse.  In fact, while we went to Quebec for July 4th she
passed away (July 5th) at the vets office before we could get back to help
her and when we dropped her off she was OK.
 
So, in closing, spend as much time as you can with your little one and
hopefully if you have other ferrets they will cuddle with her too (my two
original ferrets Fern and Gaston would have nothing to do with Jasper from
day 1 I believe it is because she didn't take part in the original struggle
for the ferret hierarchy ranking that took place when she first came into
the house - she was too little and scared).
 
 good luck,
 dawnie
 Fern & Gaston
[Posted in FML issue 1690]