To Michaela Maurice: >VET Question: >I work with a vet and know about treating abscesses on cats and dogs, but >am wondering if ferrets are treated similarly: is a drain necessary? (ie: >can I do it on my own by just pricking and squeezing) , It depends on the size and location of the abscess (just like a cat or dog.) Drains aren't usually necessary, as long as a large hole in the dependent area of the abscess is present and stays open so all of the pus can drain out..... >what oral antibiotics should a ferret be given, is neosporin or polysporin >(topical) okay for a ferret, do they ever go away on their own? I'd go with Amoxicillin at 20 mg/lb BID for 5 days, and 10 mg/lb for 5 more, or Clavamox, or Baytril at 20mg/kg. I've seen ferrets go septic from abscesses. Neosporin is OK. Do abscesses every go away on their own - yes, if they rupture and drain - they can go away on their own - but only if they rupture. I think intervention is far safer and quicker..... >ps. I am 99% sure it's an absess but realize that the only way to be sure >is either by opening up (or by ultrasound--which is too expensive to do). How about a biopsy. I get a lot of biopsies that vets are sure are abscesses but turn out to be neoplasms with a necrotic center. Best to excise a large portion if you can't get it all, and submit part of the wall for pathology - that way you get your big drainage hole, and a diagnosis, too. I don't think ultrasound will tell you much about a flucutuant mass as far as diagnosis..... Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP Chief Pathologist, AccuPath Dept. of Veterinary Pathology [log in to unmask] Armed Forces Institute of Pathology [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1700]