What we thought never could happen has now happened. Our most beloved little albino Amanda have now left us for a place in the ferret heaven. She was three years when she came to live with our oldies, who left us in summer 1993 (7 and 8 years old). Amanda managed to cheer them both up at a time when they seemed to be getting old and lazy. She made them joyful and happy again. Amanda lived with us for almost five years, so she was not a young girl anymore, but she was always playful almost to the bitter end. We started to notice some changes around Christmas. She didn't want to be tickled on hur tummy, just to jump up and run around, anymore. Her stole was from time to time a bit runny, but it is normal that it can vary. And she was sleeping quite a lot, but that often happen during winter. She was eating very good all the time, which made us think that she was alright, though she had almost become hysterical about food. As soon as the bowl was empty she started to hunt us to make us fill up the bowl again. And that was something new. Then suddenly one morning when I was leaving home I found her on the doormat. By some strange reason she was terrified. She had never been afraid before, so I took her up and handed her over to my wife that tried to calm her. I left for a trip and the following happened: She continued first to run and hide, but after a while she fell asleep. My wife noticed after a couple of hours that she was beginning to get unconscious and left imidiately for the vet. As always, this was late in the evening and the vet that was at the hospital didn't have much experience of ferrets. She said that she didn't think she could do much, but if my wife wanted she would give it a try. She decided though that as Amanda was in such a poor state, 8 years old, she would probably not come out of the anaesthesia alive and it was then better for her to just calmly be put to sleep. Our State Vet. made an autopsie and found that she had four formation at the stomach (pylorus). The formations contained inflammatory tissue which at special colouring showed a huge amount of bacteria of the species Mycobacterium avium. From what I understand she had probably got it from something that she had eaten. According to the vet she had probably had it for a long time but not shown any signs. It has earlier been seen among minks (Mustela vison) at farms, which confirm that it is spread in food. My questions are: have you heard about this bacteria before, do you know anything about the disease, can it be spread by air or by contact between animals, how can it be diagnosed (we would like to check that our other ferrets don't have it), can it be treated, and if so can we do some prophylactic treatment on the others? Is it also contagious for us? Any information is valuable for us. Re. ferret smell. As a professional wine taster I have of course tried to describe ferret smells. I fully agree with your wife that they smell like pop corn when they've been sleeping. I have also noticed a somewhat sweeter smell more similar to butterscotch. Many ferret owners also talk about honey, which I have not found. Though being away from them for a while and then coming back you notice a sweet, spicy smell that draws towards what frenchmen often describe as wild. The olfactory experience of deer meet is a bit similar. Maybe you should bring some ferrets to Ann Noble, professor at University of California Davis, who is an expert on aromas. To be safe it's maybe better to bring her to the ferrets. We have had a hob in heat for a while (now castrated), and that is a completely different smell. Some of you have maybe been unlucky to get in to a restroom that haven't been cleend for a long time... Re. descenting and declawing (terrible word) I have known for a long time that a lot of the ferrets in USA are descented. I can understand that people don't find the smell agreeable, but normally they use these glands very rarely, maybe once a year, if you are not unlucky. What I can't understand at all is how someone can declaw a ferret. From what I understand also declawing of cats are common in USA. I find this utterly discusting. It takes away an important part of the animals normal behaviour. I read the other day that someone had theire ferret declawed, and it didn't do much harm. There was really no big difference. When he tried to dig it just took longer time. I through up! It's like cutting off someones fingers. It takes a little longer to eat, but I goes alright!!? If you can't adopt your home to the ferrets normal behaviour, you should get an other animal. We have had ferrets for more than ten years running around our apartment. Yes, they like to scratch things, yes they have made small marks. But we have arranged our home to minimise these negative things. We have put cover on our doors and under the sofa, which actually are the only thing that have interested them to attack. Other things you can teach them not to mess up, if you take time to do it. I have absolutely no understanding for this. If you want a pet that definitely wont damage your home, buy an aquarium. I don't think any vet in Sweden would even consider declawing a ferret, and absolutely not a cat. Wake up over there! Treet the animal for what it is and not just like a toy for your own enjoyment. I guess I now have put out my chin, but I think that a lot of you ferret friends agree with me. This got much to long. Greetings from Johan + my three furry friends Zeus, Maia and Penelope (neither declawed, nor descented). [Posted in FML issue 1107]