It's not over till it's over, and it's not over yet. Slink is hanging on by a thread - she has pretty much untreatable nerve damage in her esophagus and chokes when she eats or drinks. The food entering her lungs results in severe pneumonia. She had a rather high fever yesterday - a little better today. As soon as it is clear that she is getting miserable, I'm afraid it will be time to say goodbye and put her to sleep :-(( But, if cats have nine lives, ferrets probably have more. I'm letting her eat and drink as she pleases and have pulled the feeding tube - she is on her own. There is a slim chance that eating (she eats mucho, even with fever and choking) might stimulate the esophagus enough to make a neural connection or two... nobody really knows, but there isn't too much to lose in trying, other than dragging out the emotional trauma a bit more for us both. It's do or die Slink... hope you're listening! Bill [Posted in FML issue 0261]