Bryon Carmoney was wondering whether he should have his 9 yo Weezer operated on for a tumor on his liver or put him to sleep. I think it is best to do neither, unless Weezer is in constant pain. Weezer is almost surely too old to do well in surgery. If he lived, his recovery would be slow and he could feel terrible. Not operating is a kind and rational choice. I think it is also kind to let a ferret die a natural death unless they are in terrible pain. I can understand feeling badly about not being there when a ferret dies, but if you choose when they should die you could be taking some good times with you away from them. Death is the most natural thing we all do after breathing. It is scary and it certainly is not pretty, but I'm not sure it is improved by taking a ferret to a vet and having them end their lives with a car ride and a visit to a place they probably hate and are afraid of. I have taken two of the five ferrets I've lost to be put down because they were in pain, and it was good to hold them and know they were out of pain. The other two who died of age and illness I allowed to go on their own in their own time. I just tried to make them comfortable. If I had taken them to the vet when I thought they were not going to rally, I would have been wrong. They both had good days after the first time I thought they were dying. They grew weak and tired and hardly played at all, but until they stopped eating I didn't even consider letting them go. Not eating and drinking is one way of choosing their own time, and I let them do that. It was very sad to watch them slip away, and they were uncomfortable as it became harder to breathe, but that is the way death often goes. If your old guy is still walking around and eating, he is still interested in life and enjoying himself when he's up for it. Even if he sleeps all the time, as long as he is eating he is not ready to leave. He's just old and slipping away. -- * * * Support Our Shelters * * * Helping the Shelters of the Ferret Mailing List Ask me how you can help a shelter near you: Judith White <[log in to unmask]> Tax-Deductible Donations accepted through PayPal: <[log in to unmask]> http://www.geocities.com/kourifanclub/SOS.html [Posted in FML issue 3659]