Dear Mr. Linda Iroff,
>Belle is my almost 6 year old first ferret, a scrawny little girl spayed at
>5 months old.  A few days ago I noticed her vulva was slightly swollen.  I
>know well what that probably means, but there is a slight sticky yellow
>discharge.  Could that mean an infection?  There are no other classic
>adrenal signs:
 
The above description reminded me of my Zooey's adrenal case.  She had a
slightly swollen vulva.  It didn't look like what I saw in some text books,
but I recognized a slight sticky yellow discharge.  I thought that it might
be an infection.  So it was tested and the result was negative.  The
discharge was that of a female in heat.  This is what I was told by Dr.
Gandolfi in Castro Valley in California.  The amount of the discharge varies
according to the femal hormone produced by adrenal tumor.  By the time Zooey
had an operation, the pus-like discharge was not there.  The remaining story
is long, so I stop here.
 
I hope Belle will recover very soon.  Give my warmest hug to her.
 
Keiko Kojima
National Ferret Haven
Osaka, Japan
[Posted in FML issue 2265]