My ferret Missy is a six month old neutered and descented Marshall Farms ferret... About two months ago she had an abcess about 1cm to one side of her anus. We took her to a local vet (New Jersey) who drained it and gave us antibiotics for her. She recovered fine and went back to her usual self. Just recently the abcess recurred in exactly the same spot! Again i took her to a local vet (this time in Baltimore) who cauterized with silver nitride and gave us antibiotics. She has again healed fine. Somethings to note are that Missy always splays her legs out when you pick her up. Whether that indicates pain or discomfort i dont know... Also (though i cant say I know what an infected abcess should smell like) in both instances the discharge had a specific and disagreeable odor (could this be from an 'incomplete?' descenting?) Before the first abcess Missy was a very strong and sturdy ferret. Now she is somewhat skinny. While her active behavior has not diminished much (she still does a good ferret dance and plays with the others... Maddie and Monica) we are worried about her... Does anyone have any suggestions??? Thanks a lot... [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1410]