Sarah, there are approaches to use for adrenal neoplasia which is the single most common cause of such classic fur loss. Surgery is usually best but there are approaches for those who aren't surgical candidates,too. If you go to the FML Archives (The addy is in the header of every day's FML and the Archives are very easy to use.) and you search backwards from now through last year (and then in separate clumps for ones before if you need those) for ADRENAL with a subject containing FROM JM with the from line containing SUKIE you will find a pile of useful info on medical approaches in case you need those while learning about surgery or in case your ferret isn't a surgical candidate. Most are surgical candidates, but it always pays to do pre-surgical testing in case some surprises show up which would make surgery too dangerous. We've been there maybe twice and the money invested in pre-op testing such as a CBC with Chemistry Panel or a heart check were well spent. The type of testing which usually doesn't make sense in this case are ultrasound or the Tennessee Panel, but the TN Panel is WONDERFUL is cases where the typical symptoms are not present. (We might wind up having to use the TN Panel on Sherman in the future since we aren't sure about his right adrenal, and have had to stop the steroids which so well controlled his IBD because he has to lose fat to be a good surgical candidate if his unclear possible symptoms worsen or the panel shows problems.) Here are some places for easily found, helpful info (and even URLs of ferret vet lists -- always a good thing to mention because every week someone on the FML needs those): http://www.afip.org/ferrets/aae.html http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html (FML Archives) http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org http://www.ferretcongress.org (Click open the Critical Refs in menu on your left.) I suspect that the only reason that the big stick worked in the case of Ben Stiller was because they could just visualize the money that bad publicity could cost them. BS cuddling a ferret became useful good publicity, i.e. a money maker. Words are pretty empty without a big stick like money or votes behind them. If it can be figured out how to convince the CA politicians that ferrets are a good profit center and a good vote getter then using the big stick when they fail to take the needs of ferrets and ferret people into account will work. Otherwise, there is the risk of making enemies of some neutral people who may be needed. (On the other hand, DO work your tails off to get the anti-ferret legislators dethroned! Research everything you can about them, look up all of their votes. Tell anyone who would have hated particular votes (not just the ones unfavorable to ferrets) about their history on issues which are of importance to THOSE groups. Anger can be used in some very constructive ways and showing that more which is bad than nasty words will come the way of those who hurt ferrets simply makes sense. Do the reverse for those who actively support ferrets: find out which votes they have done which please certain groups and make sure anyone you know who will be pleased by those votes knows about them. There are a number of ways to make politicians very happy they supported ferrets or very sorry that they didn't, and finding voting records to target recipients of the information is a great way to start.) [Posted in FML issue 4400]