To Jennifer Donnelly:
 
>My Morgan seems to be having trouble urinating.  Last night I saw her try
>no less than 10 times in 5 minutes before she was actually able to go.  She
>looked kind of agitated that she was having so much trouble.  Otherwise,
>she seems healthy and happy, although she has started nipping lately. :(
>She licks my arms and legs and then tries to take a big bite when I squirm
>because it tickles.
 
>Anyway.. is this something that I should have a vet look at?  I don't think
>its the fact that her cage needs cleaning right now (that's tonight's chore..
>ick).  It looked like she just couldn't go.
 
        Well, this is an old one, but I still wanted to talk about this one.  If
a ferret is having trouble urinating, it's definitely time to go to the vet.
Amy Seyler was right about bladder stones - they are fairly common in ferrets,
and may cause trouble, especially for males.  Because male ferrets have narrower
urethras than females, they are most likley to become totally blocked.  Blockage
of the urinary tract and inability to eliminate urine from the body may cause
death in as little as 36-48 hours.  While few ferrets actually get totally
blocked, many get severe itrritation that causes them to try to eliminate a
small amount of urine every few minutes.
 
        Another problem that may cause increased urgency is a bacterial urinary
tract infection, which is more common in females.  The offending bacteria is
usually E.coli, which is seen in feces, bbut staph infections have also been
seen.  This is also a must to treat, because ferrets are especially prone to
urinary tract infections ascending to the kidney and going systemic.
 
        In males, we have recently seen several cases of ferrets with adrenal
disease, in which the excessive estrogens secreted by the adrenal resulted in
the formation of massive cysts in the prostate that compressed the urethra,
which passes through the same area.  These animals became totally blocked.
Treatment includes removing the affected adrenal and the cysts in teh prostate.
 
        Finally, straining to urinate may not be a problem with the urinary
tract at all, but a problem defecating - most commonly some form of intestinal
blockage.
 
        LThere are other causes, but they are pretty rare.  At any rate, dysuria
is a problem that should be immediately checked out by your vet.
 
       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 1007]