Ferret Footnotes
Monthly Newsletter of the
Ferret Lovers' Club of Texas


JANUARY 1997

FERRET LOVERS' CLUB OF TEXAS 1996 ANNUAL
REPORT

Membership
Total of 102 members
Individual Members: 84
2 Out of State
3 Lifetime
30 Individual
24 Households (49 members)
Veterinarians: 12
Shelters: 4
Breeder/Resellers: 2


1996 Finances

Income
Membership Dues: 1315.00
Newsletter Fees: 290.00
Cash Donations: 217.56
Show Incoming: 1119.00
Merchandise Sales: 1548.65
TOTAL INCOME: $ 4490.21
Expenses
Show Expenses: 343.34
Legal Expenses: 190.48
Admin/Postage: 552.95
Cost of Merchandise: 1349.04
Shelter Support: 421.93
TOTAL EXPENSES: $ 2857.74

NET: $ 1632.47

Thank you again to all donors who have helped reduce expenses: donations of printing, paper, publications, production work, stamps (over 2500 stamps donated!), office supplies, show supplies, computer work, merchandise, and other items have helped to keep us in the black! We will continue to behave as a nonprofit and plow all revenues back into the support of shelters, legalization, and education.

January Meeting
ADRENAL DISEASE

Dr. Greg Moore, of the Southlake Animal Hospital, brought a slide show regarding ferret adrenal disease to the January meeting. Here is a summary of his presentation, plus additional materials from the online Ferret FAQ. We would like to thank Dr. Moore for braving the snowstorm and bringing a very informative lecture and set of slides to our meeting.

What is Adrenal Disease? Adrenal disease can also be called hyperadrenocorticism, adrenal adenoma, or adenocarcinoma. It means that one or both adrenal glands have lesions or tumors on them. The adenoma is the benign form of the disease, and the carcinoma is the malignant form (cancerous).

How Common is Adrenal Disease? Adrenal disease in the ferret is quite common, at least in American-bred ferrets, and especially in tattooed (Marshall Farms) females. Some estimates say that as many as 50% of ferrets are affected. Females are at higher risk, with 70-80% of adrenal cases being female. This may be due to early spay, nutrition, or inbreeding. Ferrets can have this problem anytime between 1 and 7 years, with the most common occurrence about 2.5-3.5 years of age. The tumors are most often found on the left adrenal gland (about 60-80% of cases).

What are the Symptoms? The most common symptom is "alopecia" or baldness. Hair loss often begins at the tail and progresses forward over the body until hair is only present on the neck, head, and feet. In spayed females, the vulva will often become swollen. Other signs can be increased scratching, thinning of the skin, excessive drinking and urination, anemia, weight loss, fatty abdominal deposits (pot-belly), muscle wasting, orange skin patches, lethargy, sexual aggressiveness, and brittle fur. Not all of these symptoms may be present, and in a few cases, NONE are present.

How Can I Know For Sure if My Ferret Has Adrenal Disease? Baldness and vulvular swelling are sufficient cause for immediate treatment. Other options are an ultrasound performed by an experienced technician to detect a mass on the adrenals. However, this can be expensive, and may fail to detect tiny tumors. Another option is the University of Tennessee ferret adrenal panel. However, Dr. Moore cautions that this test is also expensive: blood must be drawn by your veterinarian, frozen, shipped in a climate controlled condition to Tennessee, and then you have to wait, because they only perform the tests once per month. The cost to your vet for the test is $75 (not including frozen transport). If your vet is interested in this, have him/her call (423) 974-5729/5576. In conclusion, the ultrasound and adrenal panel test should only be used in questionable cases.

Misdiagnosis. Veterinarians who are not familiar with this disease frequently misdiagnose the problem. Common incorrect diagnoses are treatments for skin problems or allergies (such as special shampoos or vitamins designed for fur conditioning), incomplete spay of a female ferret (because estrogen levels are often high), and seasonal baldness. Another common misdiagnosis is that of Cushing's disease.

What is the Treatment? The treatment for adrenal disease primarily involves removal of the affected adrenal gland immediately via abdominal surgery. Removal of the left adrenal gland (the most common occurrence) is not an excessively difficult surgery and has a low risk of complication. Due to the position of the right adrenal near several large blood vessels (vena cava and aorta), it is a more difficult surgery and requires considerably more expertise on the part of the surgeon. If both glands are affected, typically the left is removed and the right is debulked. If the veterinarian cannot visually detect which gland is enlarged, the left one is removed on principle. As a very last resort, if surgical removal is not an option, the ferret can be treated with the drug Lysodren (or Mitotane). This drug must be administered every 3 days without fail throughout the remainder of the ferret's life, and can be quite expensive (about $3 per dose). Some ferrets do not respond well to this drug and experience severe nausea, or no control over the adrenal gland.

Do I have to do Surgery? What if I do NO Treatment? Some owners do not wish to put their ferrets through the stress of surgery or are willing to spend the money (over $300) on the surgery. Ferrets with adrenal problems can sometimes regrow their hair. However, this does NOT mean the adrenal tumor has gone away. Adrenal disease is cumulative and progressive: in addition to hair loss, ferrets lose muscle mass and have little energy. Although the adrenal tumors do not appear to be painful, the clinical manifestations are debilitating and greatly decrease the quality of a ferret's life. Your ferret can live bald and relatively happy for 6 months to 2 years without surgery, or can live a full lifespan with good health with surgery. Ferrets up to age 6 are considered good candidates for surgery, and recovery times are quick (a few weeks). Additionally, during exploratory surgery, the veterinarian can look for other common diseases, such as insulinoma, spleen problems, or cysts.

VACCINE REACTION ALERT

Increasingly, ferret owners are reporting reactions to vaccines when they take their ferrets in for routine inoculations. Please take precautions! The reactions are most frequently occurring for the USDA-approved canine distemper vaccine Fervac (by United Vaccine). Other reactions are happening, but less often, for the canine distemper vaccine Galaxy-D (by Solvay), and for the rabies vaccine IMRAB-3 (by Rhone Merieux). If you have a reaction, be sure your vet reports the reaction and batch number to the manufacturer.

The reaction is called "anaphylactic shock" and usually occurs within 30 minutes of the vaccination, but can happen as long as 3 hours later. Symptoms include lethargy, vomiting, drooling, loss of bowel control, and coma. This condition is life threatening! Should a reaction occur, a swift response will save your ferret's life. In case of a reaction, your vet needs to administer an antihistamine. The most common is 1:10,000 epinephrine given subcutaneously. If you are at home and you see the beginnings of a reaction, you can orally administer children's Benadryl (1/2 teaspoon) before going to the vet, but never give liquids to an unconscious pet!

A ferret can have a reaction who has never had one before with that same vaccine. However, ferrets who have had a reaction are likely to have one in the future. To reduce the risk associated with this reaction, there are several safety measures you can take. First, do not give rabies and distemper shots at the same time. These shots should be given ideally 6 months apart, otherwise at least 2 weeks apart. Second, plan to stay at your vet's office at least 30 minutes after the shot, to check for reactions. Your vet can also pretreat with an antihistamine to prevent an anticipated reaction.

January Meeting Minutes

Ferret Survey: Has everyone sent in their ferret survey? These were distributed at the meeting, were available in the December newsletter, or can be printed from the web site.

Ferret Merchandise: The last of the ferret calendars were sold, and we are currently out of stock on ferret socks and clear 20-foot dryer hoses, although these can be reordered. We still have inventory of ferret greeting cards, checkbook covers, and other items. All our merchandise will be available at shows.

Ferret Shows: We will host two shows this year: The breed-championship show will take place in May, and the Ferret Olympics will take place in October. The May show will also be combined with educational seminars throughout the day on ferret care, behavior, training, etc. Think about what types of short seminars you would like to see! Linda Davis, our show coordinator, needs volunteers to be on the show committee.

Sheppard &;Greene Ferret Food: FLC member Chantel Strange introduced the Sheppard &;Greene Ferret Food. The Nutri-Life Ferret Food has 35% protein and 20% fat, with less that 3% fiber. The first few ingredients are chicken meal, ground rice, corn gluten meal, chicken fat, ground corn, and dried egg. It has no artificial preservatives, flavorings, or colorings. The food is a bit high in corn ingredients, but should be a great mixer with Totally Ferret, by Performance Foods. Add the Sheppard &;Greene Ferret Food to Iams Kitten food as a good addition to the Totally Ferret diet. Chantel can make samples available and can split up larger package sizes to accommodate your needs.

Veterinarian Memberships: An addition needs to be made to the bylaws regarding veterinarian memberships. At present, any veterinarian can be a club member for free, simply by sending in a business card. However, we would also like to qualify these veterinarians to be able to actively promote them and do referrals on our web page and voice mail line. Suggestions were made for administering a "quiz" of items to test ferret-specific knowledge, and/or a questionnaire to determine the vet's area of specialty, number of ferret clients, or just a wish to learn more about ferrets.

Shelter Memberships: We discussed the 3-tier shelter membership system, by which shelters get varying levels of support, depending on how the shelter is operated. We also recommended coming up with a basic checklist of items for doing our twice-yearly inspections of shelters (and breeders).

ECE Discussion: New members were informed about the status of ECE and non-ECE households for meetings. If there is a meeting in an ECE-household, ECE-exposed ferrets are welcome, and non-ECE owners should launder clothing and take a shower when returning home. Similarly, ECE-ferret owners are asked to put on freshly laundered clothing and remove or disinfect their shoes before entering a non-ECE household.

Hagen Cedar Ferret: The Hagen company is marketing a ferret-shaped cedar block to be hung in cages for "deodorizing" and as a "chew toy." As we all know, the oils from cedar are quite damaging to ferret respiratory systems, but Hagen continues to sell ferret kits with cedar shavings and other cedar items.

8-in-1 Walmart Ferret Food: Ferret food is available at Walmart under the 8-in-1 brand name. This food is markedly different from the 8-in-1 ultrablend brand, available at pet stores. The Walmart brand is significantly cheaper, but has such poor nutrition that feeding it would be very detrimental to the health of your ferret.

New Members: Welcome to new members Wayne Streetly and Joyce Farar (owned by Sophie, Snowball, Clyde, Dillinger, Coke, and Sugar), Chantel and John Strange (owned by Kodo, Aramis, Anna, Boo, Batty, Taz, Minnie, Sydney, and Ajna), Kevin and Lori Goats, operators of the Ferret Haven Shelter (owned by Dakota, Mischief, and Sage), Karen Farrow (owned by Romeo), and Renee Loria.

Goals for 1997: Two shows (a breed show and a fun match), mailings to all area veterinarians with updated ferret information, mailings to club members with bylaws and ferret first aid book, monthly meetings, two social events, one fundraiser event, public relations activities with media, continuation of legalization efforts in Fort Worth and Dallas, expansion of literature availability at pet stores, and offering of educational programs to schools.

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called the Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to the Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly, he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...

(Author Unknown)
January, 1997

In Loving Memory of...

Gus
(Nathan and Heather Viles)

Boo
(Patricia Curtis)

Back to the Archive