From:
Jackie DeCarlo
Date: 2001-04-24 15:34:00 UTC
Subject: Re: NEED INFO on CPR for Ferrets?
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "Erin Simkins" <erin.simkins@e...>
wrote:
> Please, can anyone help me with this? I told the nice ferret mom
> that I would get back with her at the end of the week and I don't
> want to go back empty handed! Can ANYONE give me info on CPR for
> ferrets? See my original message below...
>
> Thanks,
> Erin
*********************************************************
Hi Erin, just wanted to let you know I tried CPR on Peanut 2 yrs ago
when she had her near fatal distemper shot reaction...People from our
club and maybe even C & T might remember me talking about this..but
in any event here is what I did...first off 5 minutes after we left
the vet after a 30 min wait she started vomiting in her carrier..I
just thought she was becoming car sick with the shot and the
excitement..5 more minutes and I went to put my hand in the carrier
and felt a non responsive ferret.. all she did was flop around in my
hand...completely out of it...could not feel a heartbeat or feel her
breath on my cheek...in a panic while driving in Friday rush hour
traffic back to the vet I covered her mouth and nose (not for the
weak at heart) with my mouth and tried to breath some life into
her..in the dark with only the street lights shinning her eyes just
had that glassy look... there was no resistance at all from
her...after giving her a couple of very short breaths I would then
lay her in my lap and sort of pump her chest very gently (had no idea
where her heart was anyway) then would pick her up in one hand and
start the breathing again..I had no idea if I was even doing this
correctly but in my panic and telling her to please hang in there I
was desperate to try anything..maybe it was just the stimulation and
movement that finally got the very slightest little paw movement (I
felt this against my cheek otherwise I couldn't of detected
anything)...she was still very non responsive and as I flew to the
vets and rushed inside crying and saying I think she is dead I was
just praying that what I had been doing was partially right and had
at least a little effect on her...my vet thinks this may very well
have kept her alive till they were able to work on her and get her
heart going again... People can take this with a grain of salt but I
still believe she is still alive because of this...even if it was
only the stimulation...I can't really say..but Erin asked and since I
had been thru it I thought I will tell you what I did...Back then
when I told people what I had done they really looked at me sort of
strange but again people will do strange things when put in a
situation like that and I refused to let her die...Thank god when I
took her in this year for her distemper shot when she started
vomiting, convulsing and her nose and paws turned beet red in a
period of 5 minutes after the shot and with being pretreated with
Pred and Benedryl I was right there at the vets so they got a chance
to work on her right away...Well, anyway, that is my experience with
CPR on a ferret...
Jackie Peanut, Bandit and still missing Taz