Dear Wink,
 
I'm so sorry that I didn't write to you sooner, and I desperately hope it's
not too late.  My Marty had hepatitis and we treated it with a very strong
antibiotic called Clavamox.  Keep up the supportive care, but Casper needs
to be on a better diet.  If he's less than 3 years old, he should be eating
IAMS.
 
After 3 he should be on Totally Ferret.  Diet really and truly makes all the
difference in recovery.  My recooperative recipe is baby rice cereal (the
less salt, the better), Heinz chicken or turkey baby food (Heinz has more
fat and less onion and garlic powder), and Ferretvite to taste.  Mix it with
water so that it is about as thick as (or a little bit thicker than) potato
soup.  Once
 
he starts feeling better, gradually add mashed IAMS or Totally Ferret
(that's been softened with water) to the mixture.  This has worked really
well for Marty--he's a different ferret now.  He jumps and plays like a
youngster.
 
As far as what the vet says, I'm not at all sure that he can tell the
condition of the liver without doing an ultrasound (at least that's what my
vet says).  Did the vet check his liver enzymes?  If so, what is the count?
When Marty was sick his liver enzyme count was nearly 3000, it should be at
least 10 times less than that, but he recovered.  :) Also, I truly believe
that Casper can recover from hepatitis.  He may have recurrent bouts of it,
but if you stay on top of it and treat with Clavamox and support, he will
get better.
 
If you would like, give me a call.  My number is (505)296-7321.  Hang in
there; I know how hard it is.
 
Love to you and Casper,
 
Steph, Sophie, Marty, and Jake
[Posted in FML issue 2059]