Part of a topic (the folks talking about possibly putting down a ferret in need of rehab) really upset me so I apologize for my reply being so poorly written yesterday, but I was pushing a lot of emotion down to do it and as a result was not at all clear in what I said. Thought you'd like to know that I privately passed on contact info for them so the ferret could be moved out of state to a safe shelter if in California. Rehab is an option; death is not an option but an end. ---- NO list is a replacement for going to a vet when a health questions arises. If you have a health question then make an appointment, and do what testing is needed. Sometimes too little data exists to answer, or sometimes folks get on list somewhere when rapid care is important to prevent a handicap or save a life. Lists are important for learning and for getting leads -- VERY IMPORTANT -- but they can never replace vet care. ---- >I noticed about 10 days ago that she had a swollen vulva with purulent >discharge. If this does not clear up with antibiotics or returns after such treatment, then, YES, surgery is the only option because each of the possible causes (adrenal neoplasia, uterine stump, or ovarian fragment) require surgical correction to stop. Vet is right, as I suspect you knew. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to emotionally prepare for surgery. That's okay. ---- >I wanted to make an indepth page of WS for those very interested in the >technical aspects of the genetics side of it all. A few people graciously >offered help. But as I learned more and more about it, the more questions >I had. I felt like I was in over my head in an area that has not even >been touched by research using ferrets. So I abandoned the idea. That is logical. After all, we do not at this stage even know if it is WS or is a totally different pigment deprivation situation which very possibly also is a neural crest disorder. Besides, so many of the things that are "out there" as classic symptoms have NOT been connected to WS in any research I've seen so far, so some of those may be right for an non-WS genetic disorder, or may be right for a ferret-variant of WS, or may be just coincidences. DO go use the search engine at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list/ and look for the posts on this by geneticist, Dr. Brett Middleton. [Posted in FML issue 3802]