Hi all!!  I'm a new member.  I subscribed before but got overwhelmed with
my life and was unable to manage the long daily letters we'd get, despite
how wonderful and informative they were.  But I'm very glad to be back
because, honestly, I missed all you guys!!!!  And, unfortunately, I need
some help.  :'(
 
I took one of my baby girls (Zen) to the vet last week because I noticed
some things I thought were strange.  Unfortunately, my suspicions were
confirmed.  She's a Marshall Farms ferret, I believe, and about 5 1/2 years
old.  She had one mast cell tumor removed several years ago and no problems
arose from it since as far as either I or the vets can tell.
 
What I recently noticed was that she seemed to have lost a lot of weight
(about 10 oz in the last month or so) which brings her down to 1.12 lbs.
That's over a third of her body weight.  She's also been very very
lethargic, though she has been eating and drinking.  I made some variation
of duck soup and she seemed better for a few days, then became very
lethargic again.  Then, as I felt her tummy, it seemed distended and hard.
I compared that to the other baby to make sure and her tummy did not feel
the same way, so I immediately made an appt.  with my vet.  The vet
examined her that day and did tests the next day.  He thinks it's either a
cyst or a tumor, more likely a tumor because of the amount of weight she's
lost.  He did x-rays, and couldn't tell exactly where or what it was
because of her size.  He suspects it's coming from her spleen.  He also
said he did not think it was her liver, bladder or stomach, from what he
could see in the x-rays.  He's also now referred me to the Ohio State
University Vet.  Hosp.  for an ultrasound to try to get a better idea of
what it is in hopes of avoiding surgery, though he thinks we'll probably
have to regardless.  She has an appointment at OSU on monday at 9 a.m.
They're going to do another exam to make their own assessment and do the
ultrasound if they can get her in that day.
 
When I used to belong to the FML, I thought I remembered reading that
Marshall Farms ferrets were prone to lymphoma.  He thought that might be a
possibility.  Any ideas????  I'm soooo upset and scared.  I trust this vet
(as much as one can with the life of a loved one in their hands) yet wanted
some other input.  I would GREATLY appreciate some input, advice, etc.  if
anyone else has come across something like this.  I have already done as
much research online and in the FML for issues with spleen enlargements,
tumors, etc.  so I think have the basics down but thought someone might
have some other ideas.
 
Thanks!!!!!!!!!
 
Queen Zen, Queen Bu and Laura (the devoted slave to fuzzy hearts)
[Posted in FML issue 3050]