Warp and Meeteetse had vet appointments today. Warp will be six in June and Meeteetse is 7 and 1/2. They were standard old-age appointments, plus Warp was having her pre-surgical evaluation (adrenal signs). Her surgery will be Friday; she's hard to intubate so that is real concern and she's lost weight while waiting for the surgeons' arm to heal (skiing accident) but otherwise she is strong. Meeteetse's mast cell tumors of course cleared up in the week between setting the appointment and getting there so once again we'll just leave them since they aren't infected and don't really bother her. Meeteetse appears to have gotten a heart murmur. That's new. She'll have a follow-up evaluation late in the week. Think she got it so Bob won't feel alone... Anyway, while we were there the vet (Joe Martins at Basking Ridge Animal Hospital) specifically asked what we were giving as treats. It seems that most of the ones that he and some others with whom he has spoken have been seeing with insulinomae, esp. early ones, have been getting high carbohydrate treats like Cheerios. He did say that there is some concern about carbohydrates (including the amounts in dry foods) for individuals who have a personal susceptibility to insulinomae. It's still hypothetical, of course, but there is some now background to lend caution for such treats and for some for such foods. Keep the Cheerios in those mammals with t -complexes only! One things we've noticed over the last 18 years wiht ferrets in the family is that often when a ferret goes off food it is DEHYDRATED. It is usually not hard to get them to eat again (with attention and lots of time given to the individual) AFTER THEY HAVE HAD SUB-Q REHYDRATION and evaluation by the vet. This can make all the difference in the world between assisted feeding and getting to the point where the vet says to go with forced-feeding. When not eating also CHECK the hydration. Gums should NOT be tacky, eyes should not look filmy or dull, skin at the scruff should bounce back rapidly when pinched. ferrets stop eating with colds because they can't smell well enough to know what they are eating, and if they get dehydrated (from the cold, from runs, from high Furosemide doses, etc.) the mucus membranes get dry which worsens the sense of smell even more. Sometimes force feeding is needed as per vet instructions, but sometimes (with or without rehydration -- depending on evaluation) if you warm up a bit of really STINKY canned food (like A/D which is available from vet) and then rub a bit inside the mouth you can get the ferret to have enough of a whiff for eating to start. BTW, things like A/D should be encouraged as treats -- even if you have to start them by rubbing some on gums -- because then it will NOT be foreign to them at the time when they really NEED it! Important notes: when we have had ferrets who had to be force-fed, after all else failed, to get past a hump so that they could go on to live a long and happy life afterwards we tended to also have the ferret on antibiotics which reduced the risk of infection. They typically already had to be on antibiotics for other reasons. Oh, and we give yogurt with live cultures as a treat to keep up the good intestinal bacteria levels at such times. I think that EVERYONE IS AGREED that force-feeding is a last ditch measure, only to use on those who do have a chance in their future, and that the many levels of assisted feeding in between need to be known by all, also that any ferret who is off food, water, or food MUST be gotten in for a vet evaluation right away. PVs: our's have often had shorter faces and worse teething problems (NOT attitude but pain often enough) so DO remember -- for ANY KIT -- to buy Cheweasels!!!!!!!!!!!! (Ditto for helping keep teeth clean.) The nose tapping advice is one thing I dislike about PV: it can backfire badly. We actually used the one year guarantee at PV when Helix died of JL. [Posted in FML issue 3030]