From:
"Larry McFarlane"
Date: 2003-01-03 00:20:24 UTC
Subject: Kit, Gandalf and Alix' tumors
To: "Ferret Health List" <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <009e01c2b2bd$e9131460$6cf52e04@dslverizon.net>
I wanted to write and let the FHL know of two of my group that have suffere=
d from tumors that killed them, both unexpectedly, and one severe lymphoma =
on another one. Hopefully if anyone else's ferret exhibits these signs, th=
is information might be of some service. =
In October Kit suddenly lost her balance, could not coordinate herself, but=
could pull herself across the room laying down. Our first thought was ins=
ulinoma, and our vet put her on pedia pred over a weekend when he was close=
d. The following Monday she was totally uncoordinated, and we took her out=
. When she'd walk she'd look like a Halloween cat, all 'hunched' up in the=
middle. He took X-rays and found a possible spinal injury. During this t=
ime West Nile was rampant, and we were afraid a mosquito had gotten into th=
e house and bit her. The vet took blood and sent it to Cornell. They didn=
't want to test her blood for WN, but he insisted. We also had her checked=
for ADV. The ADV came back negative, and she continued to not be able to =
walk. I found her one day paralyzed in the right hind, the next day totall=
y paralyzed (10/18). That day she was comatose, lungs were filling. I too=
k her to the vet and we eased her out of her pain. I took her, at my vet's=
behest, to a university vet clinic that specializes in pathology for conta=
gious diseases. After a long time, and quite a scare from a mis-diagnosis =
the final report listed her as having lymphoma of the spleen, kidney, adren=
als, and liver. They were not sure she didn't have an old spinal injury, b=
ut it was the lymphoma that took her.
Dec. 18 I lost my 8 month old baby, Gandalf. He had shown no sign of illne=
ss except some lethargy after my great nephew would play with him. We just=
thought the nephew was playing a bit too hard, as Gandalf weighed a little=
over 4 pounds, and he and Travis would play extremely hard. The first tim=
e it happened our vet thought Gandalf had the flu. We medicated him with a=
ntibiotics and great care, he snapped out of it. A week later the two play=
ed again and Gandalf went down. That Tuesday night I held Gandalf, and I kn=
ew something was wrong. He put his big head on my shoulder and rested. I =
checked his gums and they were a little pale. He wanted down, his breathin=
g was terribly labored, so took him upstairs and listened to his chest-no l=
ung congestion. I put his group up and checked on him. Sometime during th=
e night/early morning he left us. Larry took him to our vet who did a post=
. Gandalf had a tumor that literally ate up his left lung and was hard. I=
t had taken up most of the chest cavity, pushed his heart over and made the=
right lung not grow correctly. My vet said lymphoma, and in speaking with=
Dr. Williams I now know it was juvenile lymphoma. Dr. Williams explained =
the differences in terminology for me. There was only one time I ever hear=
d Gandalf whimper, and it was one time. Now I realize why he whimpered, an=
d why I heard no lung sounds.
During all this I was battling Alix' health. I posted here that she was di=
agnosed with insulinoma and possible pancreatitis, and I received a reply f=
rom an FHL member suggesting an enzyme her vet was giving her ferret. I co=
ntacted my vet and he said it was worth a shot-Alix was literally eating he=
rself up from the inside out. She'd eat until you'd think she'd burst, but=
no weight at all. We started her on Panakare-Plus and she started to gain=
then crashed. On Christmas day she was going down hill, refusing food. O=
n 12/26 I took her to an emergency clinic to be eased out of her pain. The=
next day, at Dr. Williams' behest, I took her to our vet for a necropsy. =
Our vet has sent Dr. Williams Alix' tissue to study, but the finding was a =
mass, rock hard, that had adhered to her stomach and was pressing the stoma=
ch and the pancreas. She also had white spots on her lungs. He confirmed =
what I'd thought-she was eating herself from the inside out, no food could =
nourish her. I have a feeling this, too, was lymphoma, but I'm waiting to =
see what Dr. Williams has to say.
Dr. Williams has been there for me through all my kid's illnesses, and espe=
cially during the last three. Every time I received a report on Kit, or som=
ething else happened I was in contact with him. After I lost her we tried =
to obtain Kit's tissue for him, but so far have had no luck. However, I to=
ld my vet the other place wouldn't be doing any more necropsies for us, as =
my vet has a pathology background, and so I know Dr. Williams will get tiss=
ue from my kids when he requests it. I want to publicly thank you for al=
ways being there when I write or call.
Rebecca & the Crew of Merry Mayhem
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste g=
ood with ketchup"
"Support bacteria, it's the only culture some people have"