Hi everyone!
 
I have a problem with Tabitha that I hope some of you may be able to help me
with.  Last week, and again last night, she did her business on the floor
(not the litter box Heaven forbid) but there was an extremely pungent odor
which came from her droppings.  This wasn't her normal musk smell.  It was
so awful that I had to use javel water to get rid of the smell while
cleaning it off the floor.
 
I took Tabitha to the vet today for her distemper and rabies shots and I
mentioned it to her and she was pretty convinced that it was probably the
raisins I gave her on those nights.  I only gave Tabitha two raisins on the
nights in question but I suppose that could have caused the problem since
raisins are highly fiberous.  The problem is, the same thing happened
tonight and I didn't even feed her any raisins.  Since ferrets have a three
hour digestive cycle, I don't see how the raisins I fed her yesterday can
still be a factor more than 24 hours after she's eaten them.
 
The scent is reminiscent of a dog's when it gets really excited and Tabitha
is one exciteable little fert!  Could it be that she's releasing the smell
from her scent glands because she was excited?  It seems to happen later at
night, could she simply be tired and loses control over her scent glands?  I
usually put her to bed (her cage) around ten or eleven and she usually goes
right to sleep within minutes of being put in.  When she's out, she follows
me around the house constantly and she continually asks me to pick her up
and I do, so she's not using the scent as a defense mechanism.  Last night,
I smelled it even before she did her business which is what makes me think
that maybe it's a glandular secretion as opposed to a urinary tract
infection or something else.
 
According to the vet, she's in perfect health so I thought that maybe she's
starting to go into heat but this seems unlikely since she's only four
months old.  Her stool and urine appear to be normal in color and
consistency so if any of your fuzzies have experienced this before, I'd
really like to know about it.  I'm Tabitha's first pet so I'm still learning
the ropes.  Much thanks to all!
 
All the best to you and the carpet sharks!!
 
DOOK  DOOK  DOOK!!
 
Keith, Tabitha's well trained pet human
[Posted in FML issue 1693]