I do understand the frustration, Andrea. This kind of situation is incredibly painful. I'm guessing the vet's guessing. Sometimes, there's just not much in the way of obvious symptoms to put a finger on a diagnosis, and the vet just has to revert to the list of most likely suspects. He has to apply "do no harm" first, sometimes with no way to know that doing nothing IS doing harm. I'm not a vet and I'm a lot more likely to be wrong than he is, but I doubt lymphoma alone would have caused such an abrupt decline. And if it is lymphoma, it was probably already too late on the 10th. Hard stomach and no obvious tumor on the ultrasound... I'm not sure how experienced your vet is with ferret ultrasounds, but if there was a tumor of a size to cause a hard belly it would most likely have been seen on the ultrasound. How's pooping? I'm thinking more on the lines of intestinal tract blockage... maybe with gas behind the blockage causing the belly to be hard. Blockages can be hard to spot on ultrasound and sometimes even on xrays depending on the blockage material. That could definitely cause an abrupt decline. It's also sometimes difficult to diagnose as a need for emergency surgery. My prayers are with you. Ferret food comparison chart (love this... it's printed out & given to all my potential adopters): http://www.ferretstore.com/ferfoodcomch.html What Suki said: Don't force feed until it's the only option. And then, take your time, take it slow, don't try to do it all in one sitting. See this web page: http://www.ferrets1st.com/articles/force_feeding_photo_guide.htm for photos to help. Read the complete 'Feeding a Sick Ferret' for tips on the steps you can take before having to resort to force feeding here: http://www.ferrets1st.com/articles/feeding_a_sick_ferret.htm Debi Christy Ferrets First Foster Home http://www.ferrets1st.com [Posted in FML issue 5126]