Message Number: YG2183 | New FHL Archives Search
From: Lisa Sanchez
Date: 2001-04-04 20:05:00 UTC
Subject: Re: [Ferret-Health-list] Re: Two sick ferrets -- one urgent
question

Thank you so much, Dr. Williams. Callie seems to be a
little better today. She is slightly more pink and,
though still dragging her backside, she seems somewhat
improved. Hopefully, it is just weakness, and she'll
continue to improve. I'll keep you updated. Again, I
thank you.

--- "Bruce Williams, DVM" <williams@e...>
wrote:
> --- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., lchez1965@y...
> wrote:
> Part two -
>
>
> > Now on to Kahlua ~ aka Callie. She is our petite,
> beautiful little
> > butterscotch who is now 5 years old. Callie has
> always been tiny,
> > weighing about 1 1/4 pounds. Always, from day one,
> her vulva was
> > swollen. About two and a half years ago, she had
> an adrenalectomy.
> > She came thru with flying colors. Now, about a
> month ago, she
> > started to show signs of being in distress. She
> was sleeping more,
> > scratching a lot, eating less, had diarrhea and
> was losing weight.
> > We took her for blood tests, and, like Tigger, her
> levels came back
> > high for protein also, as well as her white and
> red counts were
> > high. We tried supportive care, but she continued
> to go downhill.
> > Her spleen was enlarged. Finally, last week, our
> vet said he did
> not
> > know what was wrong with her but suggested that
> sometimes removing
> a
> > large spleen in a ferret works wonders. He
> encouraged us to get
> > Callie the operation. Her spleen was getting
> bigger, and she was
> > becoming more and more lethargic. (We could even
> feel her
> spleen.)
> > So, this past Monday, Callie underwent the
> operation. She went
> into
> > it at 545 grams and came out at 434. They said
> her speeln was 1/3
> > the size of a 14 pound cat. It was huge.
> Unfortunately, there was
> a
> > malignant mass in it. The cancer also spread to
> her intestines and
> > lympnodes. We are awaitng the biopsy results and
> ~ believe it or
> not
> > ~ are hoping it is lymphoma as we were told she
> could get some
> > quality extra time with chemo whereas with the
> other cancers chemo
> > doesn't work well. We are devastated. (We have
> already lost 6 of
> > our other lovies to cancer. It is so unfair how
> these wonderful
> > companions et so sick.) Now, finally on to my
> questions. When we
> > brought Callie home last night, she was doing
> surprisingly well.
> She
> > was eating the gruel and fairly alert. However,
> she was unsteady
> on
> > her feet and tipped over a few times. When this
> happened, she
> seemed
> > to have trouble getting up and "dragged" her back
> legs. By this
> > morning, she was basically paralyzed in her hind
> legs. (She also
> > seems very pale to me.) We saw the vet tonight,
> and he said he
> > didn't know what is causing this paralysis. It
> could be from
> > weakness, but he doubts it because of the way I
> described how it
> > happened. He said she could have thrown a blood
> clot after the
> > surgery and it may have gone to the spinal cord.
> Or she could have
> > lymphoma in the cord. However, upon examining her
> and palpating,
> he
> > said she didn't seem to be in pain. He put her on
> a quarter of a 5
> > mg tablet of pred twice a day for the next two
> days and then wants
> to
> > decrease it. Has anyone had any experience with
> something like
> > this? Any suggestions on helping her and making
> her more
> > comfortable? If a blood clot did cause this, is
> it reversible?
>
> Dear Lisa - Without being on site, this is a very
> difficult question
> to answer. While my first thought, especially since
> you mention she
> seems pale (remember a huge spleen may contain a lot
> of blood which
> is lost to the body on removal) is that it is indeed
> weakness, but
> now that you mention that she is paralyzed in her
> hindlegs, I have to
> consider that it may be related to the surgery. I
> have never seen a
> ferret throw a clot after a splenectomy, but if this
> is the case, you
> usually would see diminished pulse and a distinct
> coldness to the
> legs.
>
> If it is a blood clot, blood clots are rarely
> reversible, because the
> occlude blood flow to the affected areas, which
> results in a lack of
> oxygen - this is where the damage occurs. But blood
> clots are very
> rare in this area of the ferret - I've only seen
> one.
>
> I think at this point, the prednisone and good
> nursing care is your
> best bet for recovery. Don't give up just yet.
>
>
> With kindest regards,
>
> Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
> Join the Ferret Health List at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
>
>
>


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