Hello to all of you who have written in support of Patches! AGAIN, there are just too many of you to write personally, I apologize, but I hope that you all know that this message is directed right at YOU, for your caring and love and dooks and kisses sent our way. Here's the latest; anyone with direct experience please send info! Patches came out of surgery fairly well, came out of anasthesia quickly. They showed me the spleen in a baggie, it was HUGE, couldn't see how it even fit inside of him! The thing weighed almost a pound; he now is down to 1.5 pounds (but looks MUCH bigger, it's wierd...) this is down from 4 pounds in April. So, weight is a major concern here. Most of the lost weight was in the form of muscle. When the vets were looking inside, all organs looked unaffected except the spleen (of course) and the liver. Of coure, they couldn't see the heart or lungs, just the organs in the abdominal cavity. I was happy to hear that there weren't tumors everywhere inside. We are biopsying (sp) a cross section of the spleen now. We have been operating under the assumption that the illness causing the tumors was lymphoma, but the reality is it could be that OR systemic mast cells circulating in the blood. Everyone, keep the prayers going that it's lymphoma...if it's systemic mast cells "he's a goner..." in the words of my vet. Lymphoma we can treat with pred, possibly for a long time (months to years versus days to months). However, here's the down side. Remember, we also suspect cardiomyopathy in this little one. Now, of all times to start this, he's coughing. You can hear the fluid in his cough. Vet said it *could* be pneumonia, but he's showing no other signs of it, so it's most likely the cardio. We can hear a murmur on the left side of the heart, before, during, and after surgery. The other major problem now is that he has no interest in any food other than Ensure. I know it can sustain him for quite a while, but it's not in his best interest to live only on that. I need to get him back on some form of cat food/ferret food. I am having NO luck. I've tried his normal food (Pro Plan Turkey and Barley), TF, Meow Mix (come on guys, no flames, I'm desperate) Tender vittles, Amore moist food, and baby food (beef flavor). I've also tried the one thing that *always* worked on my other ones, which is simply crushing his normal food into dust and crumbs, mixing it with water and spoon feeding. Two licks, then he buried his head under the towel (he does that every time I try to give him something he doesn't want <g>) I don't have many ingredients for the duck soup recipies I've been sent. I'll try to locate them but the pet stores here aren't equipped very well with special stuff. Anyone have a duck soup recipie with somewhat easy to locate ingredients? He loves ferrevite but will sort of tolerate nutrical, when he doesn't feel like fighting. He also absolutely HATES the prednisone liquid. I mean he freaks out when the smell of it gets anywhere near him, he fights and kicks and tries to slap the dropper from my hands. I've never seen anything like it. The amoxicillin he doesn't like at all either, but he doesn't freak out, he just squirms and fusses while I give it to him. Tomorrow I'm going to the pharmacy that gave me the pred and ask them to exchange the liquid for pill form. My vet said she didn't know that the pred came in any pill form other than 5 mg, but a pharmacist I talked to yesterday said they now have it in 1 mg and 5 mg. Hopefully the pharmacy will do the exchange. Sometimes he's alert and wants to try to explore, but he tires very quickly. I'm told that's normal. I just want him to be happy, and I really don't want to regret the decision to put him through the surgery. I may very well be too impatient, I know I can't expect miracles overnight. But he's my baby........ Overall the news here is good and bad. The fact that he tolerated the surgery so well is wonderful. If it weren't for the coughing and refusal to eat, I'd be ecstatic. So, if you have any experience with cardiomyopathy or refusal to eat, please send it my way!! Kymberlie Becker Director, Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association "Forget Puppy Love...There's nothing Greater than Ferret Love!" TM http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ferretlady [Posted in FML issue 2002]