From:
Kedda213@aol.com
Date: 2002-05-25 21:45:00 UTC
Subject: question about a hardening I found
Hi. I am new to this list. I have a ferret named Jenna. Last
night, my husband and I were discussing how Jenna has just been
laying around and is letting us hold her for up to 10 minutes at a
time and how we thought that was a little strange, since she loves
to play. She is going on 5, and I was thinking that maybe she is
just slowing down. I picked her up and held her, and said to her,
"Gee, you haven't lost your winter weight" and I poked her belly.
When I did that I felt something kind of hard. I felt around with
my fingers and it feels like maybe a petrified-like organ or
something. I had her on her back, and it is on the left side. It
starts at the middle of her belly and goes towards her side and
upwards towards her ribcage. It is about 2 - 2 1/2 inches long by 1
- 1 1/2 inches wide. I did a long search on the internet trying to
find anatomy pictures without much luck. I did view some xrays, and
am wondering if maybe it is her spleen? Husband is wondering if it
is her kidney, but I don't know if you could feel her kidney by
touching her stomach. I called her vet, who's answering service
referred me to a 24 hour hospital, and I called there. They said to
keep an eye on her and to see if she is eating/drinking/voiding ok,
and if not or she turns for the worse, to bring her in, otherwise I
can wait until her vet opens on Tuesday. What I am feeling is kind
of flattish, meaning I can touch the underside of it easily. It
does not seem to hurt her. I checked my other ferret, Amber, for
comparison purposes. I felt nothing in her like what I felt in
Jenna, and my husband concurred. Does anyone have any ideas? Am I
being foolish for not bringing her in to the 24 hour hospital (their
exotic specialist is out-she just had a baby, but they think someone
there could handle her...this makes me nervous) or am I just being
over paranoid? If it is her spleen, what does that mean? Could it
be something other than an organ? (I know it is hard to tell without
seeing the ferret for yourself, but I have got to ask.) Any input I
can get on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Kelly White
Massachusetts