Daisy, an Sable Sprite, was O.K. for six months (she was approx. 2 when we got her) until she started loosing weight and fur. She was intermittantly violent (not at us, but she often violently shook the cage door when "locked up" and broke a tooth doing so) and lethargic. She was diagnosed with Insulinoma (sp?) and Pancrease Cancer. The cancer tumor was finally remove and she improved somewhat, but the Insulinoma was her final end. The vet also was sure (though she was never autopsied) she has a brain tumor because of her violent behavior. The poor thing was practically skin and bones most of her 2 years with us. The vet was suprised she hung in so long, as her blood sugar was mostly next to nothing whenver we checked. We spent months feeding her Nutrical (which is about all she would eat) to get her ready for surgury. But, she never kept wait on and was put to sleep when we felt that she had lost all semblance of a quality life. She hung on and played as much as she could. She had a hard-time walking and was very weak, but when she stopped even trying to play, and started to look sad and ill (you can appreciate how this "looks" on a ferret), we made the tough choice of putting her to sleep. She was a fighter, and she has an honored space on my parent's mantle (cremated by the Atlantis Society). Right now, beleive it or not, I am next to tears relating this. I remember the poor dear struggling to have a normal life. The other three we had (Sarah, Fred and Melony), all seemed to know she was sick, and never played too rough with her. They probably knew because she smelt bad most times (not the normal musk). When she did get pciked on by the younger Fred, who was a kit, she would get the best of him. When she couldn't fight back, Melony, our "head ferret" would give Fred hell. I really think she had some quality, even as sick and skinny as she was for that year, but when a ferret stops even trying, and we had little treatment options (damn &$#%&#$%&#$ Calif. Fish & Game!!!!!), I think what we did was best. It was very hard, especially hard for my Mom, who spent alot of time hand-feeding and "pilling" Daisy, trying desparately to get her well. [Posted in FML issue 0734]