Hello everyone out there in 'fuzzy' land .... just thought I'd post an update on the results of Sasha's recent blood work and I'm interested in knowing if anyone has any further insight about the enlarged spleen issue and ferrets with anemia. The doc said that Sasha is anemic and recommended that I either begin giving her vitamins (from the vet) or get her to begin eating as high a protein diet as possible to increase her iron level- the doc suggested I add cooked liver to her modified chix gravy recipe I'm currently feeding her. Every 4 hrs. she's eating about 2-2.5 Tbsp of this homemade mush (ground cooked chicken and hamburger, vit D milk, Ferretone for flavoring, and ground Zupreem kibble). The irony in all of this is that I, myself, was just diagnosed with anemia this past week as well (after passing out at work) and ending up in the ER so now I, too, am on a strict diet and taking iron suppliments to bring my red blood cell level back up. My doc AND Sasha's doctor both said that this should greatly reduce the lethargy we've both been experiencing and get us back to a more active, healthy state so Sasha and I are literally in this together :-) The vet said at this point she can't determine what has caused the anemia or the spleen to enlarge, which is frustrating, b/c how then do I/we go about trying to get it back down to normal -if possible? I guess I thought that the reason for the bloodwork was to determine if there was an infection present and then antibiotics would help eliminate that but the doc said the reason for the swelling couldn't be determined at this time ..... Also, the vet also said that hopefully the added iron will bring the anemia under control and then that, in turn, might combat the spleen swelling as well. Might be a case of the spleen manufacturing extra blood cells to make up for Sasha's system doesn't currently have .... Is removal of the spleen sometimes down the road the only option? I've read some published materials from Dr. Williams, who said that ferrets can live just fine with an enlarged spleen but he also recommended removal on a case by case basis - so how would I know which to do - leave it in or take it out? So, I guess we'll continue the high-protein, high-iron diet (for both of us) and hopefully that will help bring the anemia under control and help Sasha also gain back her weight (NOT a problem with me - LOL!) Thanks so much to everyone out there for your input and insight .... it's always welcome so please feel free to email anytime! :-) Jennifer, Sasha & Snowy [Posted in FML issue 4591]