> Laura asked:... Well, I think that first of all you have to consider more possibilities because I doubt there are only two, so here are a few other possible alternatives. 1. Are they possibly people who have visual handicaps and have to wait for good eye days or a helper for claw trimming? To be honest with you Steve and I often can't any longer trim our ferrets' claws exactly every two weeks. We trim them often enough, but we do have some days when even with good lighting we just can't see the claws well enough. I know people who think that claws are too long if they any downright teeny tiny and others who go for longer lengths and don't worry about ferrety digging (includes us) as long as the claws are not long enough to catch due to the splits they can get when long. On the other hand, I have seen some whose people got them to the point where they interfere with walking and that is downright cruel. So, it depends partly on your definition of "long". Slightly long, or these are crippling long? 2. Does the ferret have a medical condition you do not yet know about which might have made surgery impossible and are the meds not working? For instance, if the ferret has lymphoma, or bad kidneys, or cardiomyopathy, or... If that is the case then finding the owners rapidly becomes imperative if the more serious condition is being treated. (BTW, we had a ferret with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy who lost fur when her heart disease was advanced. She was used to teach others about ferrets after her death so there was necropsy and pathology was done. Her adrenals were fine. The cause of the fur loss remains unknown but the vet figured it may have been age combined with terrible circulation.) 3. Is the owner badly strapped financially and saving for surgery? 4. Is the ferret a recent adoptee who felt displaced and got out because the new people didn't know the ferret's personal escape tricks? Meanwhile, you ask the local ASPCA what your legal options are in your state if this is an animal suffering from Medical Neglect. Not legal but I understand what motivated her: I do recall a friend very long ago who placed an ad, was appalled by what the people who gave the right description said and told the person that despite attempts to save the dog's life that it had been found badly injured and asked to whom should they send the ashes and the vet bill. It was a bold bluff except that these were obviously horrid people and they hung up on her. The dog was alive and placed elsewhere where there was medical care. Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html [Posted in FML 5784]