I came across this article on the Oregon Live website …

Ferret gets swine flu from its owner, a first

Apparently a ferret caught swine flu from its owner and while the ferret is, thankfully, recovering from its ordeal, I guess all you ferret owners in the northern hemisphere need to be really careful that your ferret doesn’t catch that particularly dangerous strain of flu during the winter months.

Of course, it goes without saying that I hope all you ferret owners take care and don’t catch Swine Flu either :)

First time ferret owners … watch out for any signs of wheezing, sneezing, sniffling, fever or if you notice your ferret is just not itself and seems lethargic, please whisk it down to your vet to be checked out.

When I was a fairly new ferret owner, I lost my beautiful DEW boy, Mulder, to pneumonia. It was the height of our summer and no one in the house had a cold or the flu, so when I noticed Mulder not acting himself, I assumed he felt a bit lethargic because of the heat.

It was only a couple of days later that I heard him wheezing so I took him to the vet who said he had pneumonia and kept him in for observation. He was in the hospital for 5 days and I was supposed to pick him up to take him home that Friday morning but, instead, I got a call from the vet to say he had died during the night.

It transpired that our daughter had kissed Mulder on his nose when she had a strep throat. The germs got into his lungs, causing the pneumonia. Had I realised things weren’t right just a couple of days earlier, I think he would have pulled through. Instead I had to bury my lovely boy :(

With ferrets it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

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Filed under: Ferret Health • Ferret Illnesses • Ferrets as Pets • Swine Flu

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