Well, I'm trying not to panic yet but my little female fuzzybutt, Mia, is
exhibiting some strange symptoms.  She's a found ferret who was given a
clean bill of health back in October.  The the vet estimated her age at
about 2 years and she bears the MF tattoo in her ear.
 
Over the past month I've seen some weight loss but not a really significant
amount and when I held her up her tummy still looked plump (I hadn't read
the adrenal FAQ yet).  Over the past week to 10 days she's started attacking
our boy, Bobby.  She seems hell-bent on mounting him!  She grabs onto his
scruff and rides him around and is much more aggressive than we've ever seen
her.  A few days ago I started watching her vulva and finally yesterday I
had to admit that it seemed to be swelling from day to day.  She's
exhibiting no obvious hair loss but now I'm thinking that it looks thinner
than it used to (or I could just be panicking).
 
Anyway she's going to the vet today and I've been busy reading and
re-reading the adrenal FAQ on Ferret Central (THANKYOU TO ALL THE WONDERFUL
PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT SITE!!!!!!!!!!!!).  *Sigh*.....I'm so worried.
Financially this might be very hard for us....we can scrape it together but
it's frustrating, we're a young couple and I just started working on my
master's degree....just when you think you're getting your head above
water.....you all know that story.  But I wouldn't dream of sacrificing her
health, I just feel bitter about all those pet insurance companies that
don't cover ferrets.
 
So, obviously by the time anyone reads this we will have already been to the
vet but I'm curious about one thing in the FAQ (well many things actually
but I'll just take the space for this one).  Dr. Williams doesn't
necessarily recommend the Tennessee panel if the ferret is exhibiting
symptoms like vulvular swelling (which would possibly require exploratory
surgery even if it isn't an adrenal issue).  He advocates going straight to
surgery and using lysodren only if the animal is a poor surgical candidate.
She strikes me as a strong surgical candidate and obviously my vet's
recommendation will weigh heavily with me but if we could save some money
and cut to the chase (so to speak), have people here gone straight to
surgery without getting the panel done?  What about waiting for seasonal
factors to cause the disease to wax (versus wane) during the spring and
summer?  I'm not advocating doing NO bloodwork but the Tennessee panel would
add about $150 to the bill (those aren't exact quotes, I just seem to
remember that from a conversation with the vet about 6 months ago).  Like I
said, I'm not willing to risk her health and will do whatever is necessary,
but I also don't want to get into a position of wiping out our savings
completely only to have Bobby fall sick too.
 
Thanks for being there!  Even though I don't often post I feel a sense of
ferret love and support everytime I read!
 
Shannon
[Posted in FML issue 2203]