My not-so-sick ferret ;-)
I took these photos this morning – as you can see from the first one, Kaos hasn’t got that “skinny” look around her flanks any more. Huzzah \o/
I was just a teensy bit worried about her last week as she was bony to the touch – you know the feeling when you stroke the backs of old or sick ferrets? It seems like they’re dinosaurs, with every bump on their spine showing (not that I’ve ever touched a dinosaur 
).
I thought that it might be the new diuretic that she was given – it’s a new drug (and I can’t remember its name) which is stronger than Frusimide, so I was told to give her 0.25mls x 2, rather than 0.5ml.
I was worried that it was leaching the goodness out of her so made an appointment with the vet and a couple of days before taking her, I just gave her diuretic once a day instead of twice.
Fiona, my vet, checked Kaos out thoroughly and confirmed there were no nasties inside which might be causing her to lose weight, and she also was happy that I reduced the diuretic’s dose. We came home feeling pretty pleased with the result.
Kaos weighed in at 680g on Friday and today she’s 800g.
She’s filled out overnight and her coat hasn’t got that sticky-up, unkempt appearance (those who’ve had sick ferrets will know what I mean by that).
Could that be because of her TCM formula or because I reduced her diuretic? It’s impossible to say for sure but I’d like to think that the TCM formula has kicked in and is improving her overall well-being.
Sure hope I don’t have to bite my tongue ….!
Other articles you might like;
- Hot weather and ferrets
- Happy New Year to All My Ferret Friends :)
- Merry Christmas to all ferret owners out there :)
- Naughty ferrets or complacent ferret owners?
- Dig box for ferrets
- Do ferrets get moody?
- Ferrets and a new drug called EBC-46
- I hope my ferret Mojo doesn’t have adrenal problems!
Filed under: Cardiomyopathy • Ferret Illnesses
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Oh Bill – that is such lousy news :~(
We all have fingers (and toes) crossed that Juliann will be okay and the others will accept her too.
Keep us posted, please!
Hey Nona
I’m afraid Juliann has taken a turn for the worst, last night Hanna went nuts on her and she was bleeding every where. But I’m not so sure it’s all her doing. This morning she was not eating or drinking, she just wants to sleep
and be by her self. I’ve been
giving her baby food and started her on my herbal mix It’s pretty
potent stuff. all my ferrets are on it and they do really well.
It’s helping her a little. We will just have to wait and see, If she doesn’t improve she will go to the vet. poor baby, She’s had such a
rough life, and she was doing so well. It’s time to feed her again
so I’ll check in tomorrow. Hopefully she will show some improvement by then.
Oh Michelle – so sorry to hear about the other problems Shin has. That’s lousy news
I do hope your vet can get hold of that diuretic and that it will help to rid him of excess fluid.
It really is horrible when ferrets get sick – I always feel so impotent when I know there’s nothing that I can do. I lost Snoopy to lymphoma last year just weeks after Otis died from DIM and it still hurts.
My fingers are crossed that Shin will have the best quality of life under the circumstances.
I am so pleased to hear about the latest addition to your family, Bill. Congratulations
I’m sure Juliann knows you rescued her from a horrible life – animals are so intuitive, aren’t they.
I’m looking forward to hearing about how she’s getting on health-wise but I know she’ll be a whole lot better in no time with you guys looking after her!
The names of my other ferrets are are Muis (albino) & Kahlua (silvermitt) both born in 2002 and, of course, Angus and Seamus, my naughty young boys.
It’s the first time ever that I’ve been without a sable in the family. Hmmmm … I wonder if I should fix that
)
Thank you so much for the name and the site.
I’ve passed on the info and we will look into it. He is also on Pred for Lymphoma and has an inoperable adrenal tumor so it’s a balancing act with the meds. T_T
i remember you telling me about
them. I just wasn’t sure how many
you now have. what are the other
three names?
AS for my zoo crew as of this morning i picked up another one, a silversmit, a little girl 6-8 months old. my wife named her Juliann. SHE was dropped off at the pet store filthy and covered in fleas so bad she was missing fur in patches. The girl didn’t want her because she smelled bad!! hooo that makes me so mad. Carrel the owner of the pet store had her in quarantine for a month. HER fur
is coming back now and she is doing better. i met her yesterday
and now i have 4. she is a doll,
she gives lots of kisses and even wraps her little arms and feet around your arm leg and neck to hug you, very sweet. she fits right in with the others too.
SHE is thrilled to have a home.
SHE still has aways to go health wise so I’ll be giving you up dates on Juliann as well. I got my hands full all ready, but she needed a home and i just couldn’t say no.
Hi Bill
When we got our first ferret, Mash, in ’94 I joined WAFFS and became a committee member. I used to help out with the rescue service, etc, so had a lot of ferrets living in the house while they were waiting to be rehomed. For a year, we had around 27 living with us but then I had to resign due to ill health and from then on we just had 6-7 ferrets of our own.
At the moment we have 5 ferrets and Kaos is our oldest (she’s either 8 or 9 years old). She was a rescue and went through 3 homes but kept on being returned because she was a completely ditsy ferret and no one knew how to handle her. That’s why I called her Kaos when she ended up with us
Because I’m such an old crock, I was thinking that I might not replace all my gang as they go on to the Rainbow Bridge so that I end up with just 2 ferrets but my husband doesn’t think that I’ll be able to stick to that promise. Ha ha ha – I think he might be right!
Hope your 3 are well!
Cheers
Nona
Hi Michelle
The name of the new diuretic is FLUSAPEX and it’s used especially for edema in pets.
I found an English site with some information about it
http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/pet-care/flusapex.html
I do hope you can get Shin fixed up with it. If there’s anything I can do from this end, please let me know.
Thinking of you all and wishing you all the very best.
Nona
HEY NONA
it’s good to see KAOS She looks
much better. NONA how many ferrets
do you have now? how many did you save. and how many found thier way to you.
If you remember the name of the new drug,please let us know. Shin is on Furosemide right now and is really ‘filling’ up. T_T I’d like to check if we have it here.