From:
Mike Janke
Date: 2001-10-25 10:05:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Need vet advice: re: elevated red blood cell count
I'm not a vet so just throwing out my understanding of those
results... isn't that the long way of saying she has a PCV (packed
cell volume) of 72%?
The normal range in ferrets, according to "Ferrets, Rabbits and
Rodents - Clinical Medicine and Surgery" is 45-60% and possibly as
high as 63%. I'm just thinking out loud here and really have no
clue, but I wonder if something as simple as dehydration could result
in the high PCV?
I've never heard of a ferret thowing up a hairball, though entirely
possible I suppose. Still, they're not like cats and I would say
that regular vomiting is a sign of something serious. Possibly a
large hairball than cannot be vomited.
mike
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., Melissa Litwicki <squirty@m...> wrote:
> I sent mail a few days ago but am still looking for answers
> - excessively high red blood cell count
> - 72% of red blood cells vs serum (normal values in the 50% range?)
> in a centrifuge test to separate sells from serum
> - 15,000 cells per microliter in the count of number of red blood
> cells per field on the slide (normal 6k-11k/microliter?)
>
> My vet has never seen this in ferrets before and speculated that it
could
> be caused by cancer; she didn't think her spleen was enlarged
enough to
> account for the test results. This ferret eats a combination of
quality
> dry kibble with some freeze-dried meat product and raw chicken diet
thrown
> in in small amounts. She has regular hairball problems, vomits them
up
> once every few months, and vomits partially digested food every so
often.
> Otherwise, she is active, playful, and alert.
>
> What could account for the blood test results above? My vet is
> investigating treatment options but I'd like to give her some other
> opinions in case she comes up empty-handed.
>
> Thanks,
> Melissa