I have a 5 year old, male, cinnamon sable ferret, that has never had any problems (with the exception of a small cold when he was 2.) Tuesday evening last week I went to give him his monthly bath and I flipped him over in a "baby cradle" kind of way. He had a marble size, blood filled abscess right on his rectum and I freaked! I play with my ferts everyday and I hadn't noticed this on him the day before. I paged my vet (in hysterics of course) and I was told to watch him overnight and if he was still eating, pooping, drinking, then to wait and bring him in in the morning. Wednesday, the vet said it was a tumor, most likely malignant from what she could tell. TUMOR? AHHHHHHHHH! He has been acting fine, eating and drinking well, what do you mean TUMOR? The tumor was the size of a marble Tuesday night and then the size of a golfball in less than 24 hours! She did the bloodwork and x-rays...cancer had not moved into his lungs from what she could tell. The bloodwork revealed a secondary infection so he was placed on antibiotics. This afternoon, Max the wonder ferret, just got out of surgery. The vet wasn't able to get all of the tumor since it ruptured? and was tightly adhered to the colon. The tumor was sent off to be identified...another 3-5 days of waiting. I still don't know what the tumor is or how it seemed to show up so quickly! Since I found the tumor, I have been giving him a little laxative every day ( I usually give it to him 3 times a week) to help with his <ahem> duties. Since the tumor grew so quickly, I can't help but think that it is going to become larger again since the vet was not able to remove the whole thing (I'm not knocking the vet here, I'm sure she did what was best for Max.) I'll be skipping the next car payment to pay for this, I'm sure...but he deserves a chance. The tumor may have been growing inside and then surfaced to where I could see it, I don't know. How did I miss this or how did it grow so quickly? The vet is keeping him overnight after the surgery to keep an eye on him. Max isn't eating on his own yet, so she's going to have to force him. Max is my first ferret....first pet I chose and named on my own... my symbol of 'conquering' college, and independence from my parents. I want to make him as comfortable as I can when he gets home. Any suggestions for food or room rearrangements or anything would be greatly appreciated....If you have ever experienced anything like this before, please respond. I want to know what I can expect. Please reply to [log in to unmask] Thanks in advance, Liz....the hysterical one Max....Huh? Wha? Why is the room spinning? Grace...Why is he getting all the attention? Don't make me poop in the wrong corner to get more attention! Oscar...my sweetie at the Rainbow Bridge [Posted in FML issue 2697]