A girl I've recently met has had this ferret a little over a week.  She
got it from some people who said they're moving and can't take it with
them.
 
She's a little albino girl, and her feet are bare (no fur), and swollen,
and her right foot appears to be rotting off.  It's covered in
green/yellow type coloring, and last night had started seeping fluids.
 
Her feet are tender and she has trouble walking of course, but the right
front foot is the one that is the worst and gives her the most trouble.
 
The girl said when she first got the ferret, she had been putting
neosporin on the foot but it just seemed to make it worse, and the other
front foot seemed to get worse when she did it.  Then upon taking her to
one vet, that vet claimed that it was just a foot fungus and gave her
some sort of cream.
 
She didn't believe that vet, and went for a second opinion, in which
THAT vet told her that it was probably diabetes, but the test came back
negative, so he said that it had to be some sort of infection working
from the inside out and put her on heavy antibiotics (which was amox. and
also pred.)
 
She's been on the antibiotic for about a week with little improvement.
 
They clean the wounds every day, and try to keep her clean and
comfortable, but given the fact that she has to stay in a cage because of
her condition, and has trouble getting in and out of the litter box, it's
hard to keep her clean.
 
They had discussed amputation of the more serious leg, but given her age,
the vet said it wasn't a good idea (she's seven).  The sight of this leg
is horrible, and the smell is unlike anything I've ever come across.
 
The woman is pretty unwilling in the matter of amputating, and is holding
out hoping the antibiotic works.  I have little hope that it will given
the sight and smell of her poor feet, but am trying to find different
options hoping that if she has a variety of some sort, maybe she'll do
something further to help this poor ferret.
 
I'm sorry this is so long, but this is unlike anything I've ever seen,
and I wonder if even the vet knows what's going on, so I told her I would
post the pictures and her story here and see if maybe some of you had
some idea's.
 
Thank you
 
If you'd like to see the pictures, you can access the pictures at these
address'
 
http://www.printroom.com/_vti_bin/ViewImage.dll?userid=JoleeOtis
&album_id=80863&image_id=0&courtesy=1
 
http://www.printroom.com/_vti_bin/ViewImage.dll?userid=JoleeOtis
&album_id=80863&image_id=2&courtesy=1
 
http://www.printroom.com/_vti_bin/ViewImage.dll?userid=JoleeOtis
&album_id=80863&image_id=4&courtesy=1
 
http://www.printroom.com/_vti_bin/ViewImage.dll?userid=JoleeOtis
&album_id=80863&image_id=3&courtesy=1
[Posted in FML issue 3819]