Hi folks, one of our ferrets recently underwent an exploratory surgery of his abdomen. Since our vet suspected that there might be a problem with his liver (low protein and albumin levels - they went back to normal since the surgery), she took a sample of the liver tissue and sent it for pathology. Even though his liver turned out to be otherwise normal, the pathologist noted (as an "incidental finding"), that there were traces of copper present in his liver. We are kind of puzzled, since we don't know whether the copper accumulation could be caused by abnormally high copper intake (water?) or whether the ferret has a tendency to accumulate copper in his body. Just in case, we started giving all our animals bottled water and we put the guy on small doses of zinc supplements. Apparently, there is a breed of dogs (can't remember the name :-)) in which copper accumulation in the liver is quite common. Our vet thinks that, even though there is no immediate danger, if the thing goes on, it may lead to liver failure at some point down the road. One her colleagues supposedly read a journal paper on the subject, but can't remember which journal it was in, so it's not of much help... Anyway, if any of you folks had similar problems or know anything on the subject, we would appreciate your comments. Thanks, Monika & Matthew Marcinkowski Edmonton, Alberta [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1700]