To Tanya, whose Orville is about to be neutered:
Tanya - Neutring of a male ferret is not a very big deal. Orville will
be up and around in a day. I would go ahead and get it done, and then you'll
have over three weeks for everything to heal before you start your vacation.
Actually, it's not all that stressful and surgery and is very well
tolerated.(Actually, ferrets seem to tolerate most surgeries far better than
dogs or cats).
Concerning a CBC at less than one year of age - I guess you already know
my opinion, but Dr. Weiss is out of town until the weekend...I hope he will give
his thoughts on the matter.
I think that in the absence of any signs of disease, a CBC is not
necessary in animals of Orville's age. It generally provides little
information, and will cost you an additional 20-30 dollars. Plus, the animal
has to be sedated, or at least restrained, so there is a lot of stress involved.
Since Orville will be anesthetized for the neutering anyway, you might consider
it, but I definitely would not push it as part of a routine visit for a young
ferret.
Plus, I am definitively of the opinion that you can't diagnose the
presence of tumors from a CBC. That is an inaccuracy that has been floating
around for some time now. Several practitioners have said that lymphosarcoma
can be diagnosed on the basis of an elevated lymphocyte count, but no concrete
evidence has ever been offered. In fact, I have seen ferrets placed on
chemotherapy simply on the basis of an elevated lymphocyte count. In domestic
animals, by far, the most common cause of elevated lymphocytes in the blood is a
chronic infection. Ferrets commonly have chronic Helicobacter infections, which
is much more likely a cause of "peripheral lymphocytosis" than lymphosarcoma.
Bruce Williams, DVM Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask] Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
(202) 782-2600/2602 Washington, D.C. 20306-6000
[Posted in FML issue 1066]
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