From:
ferret@en.com
Date: 2001-04-03 21:59:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Green Urine
Febreze is safe if YOU FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. But the best way to help
with aroma is to feed top quality, low in fish (fish smell), and
change the bedding frequently. Litter box, every day.
At the shelter, we change bedding once a week when we are higher than
30, it is every two weeks (time to do the laundry). Litter boxes are
done daily. Floors are swept and mopped daily with Simple Green. I
use that on their laundry, and the litter boxes to.
When ever people come into the house they always comment they cannot
smell the ferrets. (And that is from non animal lovers)
If your baby is a boy in rut, well, the only solution is to get his
nutter butters cut off. (Yep, look at a Nutter Butter Peanut Butter
Sandwich cookie, you'll see the similarities)
Any way, hug your fur angels.
Jean
Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., AFERRETVET@c... wrote:
> Hi Sukie,
> Biliverdin is green in color and can give the
> urine a green color. Biliverdin is usually converted
> to bilirubin. Bilirubin is yellow in color. High bilirubin
> will cause jaundice (yellow color to skin, eyes,etc.).
> As Dr Williams pointed out, destruction of red blood
> cells can also cause increased biliverdin and a green color
> to the urine along with some other possible causes.
> Jerry Murray, DVM
At necropsy, an animal in liver failure can also have green
discoloration of the kidney tissue as well ("cholemic nephrosis") and
in really bad cases, the liver is green too.
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
Join the Ferret Health List at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list/message/2140
From: AFERRETVET@c...
Hi Sukie,
Biliverdin is green in color and can give the
urine a green color. Biliverdin is usually converted
to bilirubin. Bilirubin is yellow in color. High bilirubin
will cause jaundice (yellow color to skin, eyes,etc.).
As Dr Williams pointed out, destruction of red blood
cells can also cause increased biliverdin and a green color
to the urine along with some other possible causes.
Jerry Murray, DVM
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list/message/2130
From: "Bruce Williams, DVM" <williams@e...>
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., AFERRETVET@c... wrote:
> Hi WeEz,
> Green urine may actually be a sign of a liver problem.
> With his hair loss and now with green urine, I am
> concern he may have adrenal gland disease on the right
> side that has spread to his liver. Other causes of liver
> problems are possible too. I would start with bloodwork,
> urinalysis. Ultrasound may also be useful to look at his liver.
> Since he is 10 years old, exploratory surgery would not be my first
option.
> It will be interesting to see what shows up,
> Jerry Murray, DVM
Another possibility in cases of green urine is hemolytic anemia - I
have seen it occasionally in severe hemolytic anemias with urine
bilirubins through the roof. Green urine can also be a sign of
severe urinary tract infection, possibly as a result of adrenal
disease, prostatic disease, and urine retention.
Unfortunately, my experience is that green urine is not a good sign,
and indicates serious disease. I think that a CBC, chemistry, and
urinalysis are better performed sooner than later.
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
Join the Ferret Health List at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
__________________
Etc...
If you go back into that time frame you will find other posts on the
topic, but these have the essentials!
Lipinski on Ferret Anatomy
Mr. Lipinski has asked several excellent questions regarding the
ferret's
digestive anatomy and conversely how it effects the ferret's diet.
Scientifically, a diet is that amount of nutrients in the proper
quantity,
quality and balance, feed to an animal in a palatable form, so
that in a
twenty-four hour period it will maintain or support its
physiological state.
Because ferrets have such a unique digestive system they are
strictly limited
as to what they can eat. As has been stated in many references,
ferrets are
obligate carnivores, meaning they must have a meat based diet
daily. This is
not a preference in selecting a food it is a must if the ferret is to
live.
Selecting a diet first and foremost must be on the basis of meat
content.
Many volumes have been written by numerous authors as well
as myself in great
detail on this subject. I will not cover selecting and evaluating a
diet
here.
Regarding MR. Lipinski's questions on the effect of the ferret's
metabolic
anatomy relative to what and how a ferret eats.
A ferret has no ceacum. Dogs, cats, humans and most other
animals have a
ceacum. In those animal, the ceacums is located at the point
where the small
intestines widen to become the large intestines. This location is
called the
ileocolic junction. The ceacum itself is a blind pouch which
functions to
provide some digestion of the complex carbohydrates, and fiber.
It contains
nonpathogenic, symbiotic bacteria which secrete enzymes in the
ceacum, which
in turn digest the fiber and complex carbohydrates. The rabbit
and horse
have a disproportionate sized ceacum relative to their body size
and most
other animals, which allows them to eat large quantities of
fibrous feedstuff
such as hay and grass. Neither of these animals nor any other
mammals
secrete fiber digesting enzymes, these are only secreted by the
bacteria in
the ceacum. On the other hand, ruminants, such as cattle,
sheep, goats,
deer, etc., have a specialized digestive system, which allows
them to digest
high fiber diets such as grass and hay even more efficiently than
the rabbit
or horse. This is because the have a large paunch called a
rumen which host
to billions of symbiotic bacteria and single cell microorganism
which in turn
secrete fiber digesting enzymes that then break down the fiber in
the food.
Back to the ferret. The lack of a ceacum limits the ferret in eating
fiber
containing foods. From our research we found that fiber should
not exceed
1.5% to optimize the digestibility of the whole diet. This is
another reason
why I recommend not feeding cat food or any other foods as the
primary diet
for the ferret if it contains more than 2% fiber.
The second anatomical difference between ferrets and other
carnivores, is the
short large intestine or colon. Ferrets do have colons but an
extremely
short one. It is approximately 10 cm (3.94 inches) long. This
proportionally is about 1/3 to 1/2 as long as a cats colon. The
ferret's
colon contains very little convolutions or folds which would aid in
the water
and nutrient recovery from digestion. The surface is almost
smooth. There
are very few bacteria in this area which is also contrary to most
other
animals which means the ferret cannot synthesize any B
vitamins.
These two anatomical differences plays a major role in what the
ferret eats.
The rate of passage for food from the time the ferret eats till it
poops is
about 3 to 4 hours. This further dictates that high quality animal
protein
must be the major portion of the diet. Probioticts or Prebiotics
such as
yogurt, lactobacillus, etc., or yucca, fructo- oligosaccharides
(FOS) are
therefore non effective in the healthy ferret because the intestinal
track
does not support bacterial growth as does those of other
animals. This is a
major reason why holistic foods are a rip-off and have no
physiological
benefits in ferrets.
The ferret has a very specialized gut which has evolved eating
meat as its
primary protein and energy source. As Bob Church pointed out,
the wild
ancestors of the ferret, the polecat, also ate insects, eggs, and
many types
of small prey. There digestive system secrets very powerful
proteolytic and
lipolytic (protein and fat digesting) enzymes. They also secrete
some lipase
enzymes in the small intestine which digest the simple
carbohydrates and
sugars. However, their digestive system can be overwhelmed
with simple
carbohydrates such as sugar, dextrose, and fructose (fruit
sugars) if feed
foods or treats containing them. Fruits such as grapes, raisins,
bananas,
apples, cantaloupe contain both high levels of sugar as well as
fiber. This
is a double whammy for a ferret and should not be fed. A good
ferret diet
should contain at least 34 to 37% protein, 18 to 24% fat no more
than 1.5%
fiber and no more than 25% carbohydrates and no sugar. Of
course the major
protein sources should be from high quality chicken byproducts,
meat, eggs
and liver. Diets with gluten, soy or other complex vegetable
proteins cannot
be digested by the ferret and can even cause digestive
problems. Regarding
the effects of highly soluble carbohydrates such as sugar, or
high
carbohydrate diets (35% or higher), I am not aware of any
studies which have
established the long term effect of their feeding. Knowing their
anatomy and
reviewing the data from our own research, I do not believe it
would be in
their best interest for the long term health considerations of the
ferret.
Sincerely,
DR Tom Willard
Message 2414 of 8392
ADVERTISEMENT
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., AFERRETVET@c... wrote:
> Hi WeEz,
> Green urine may actually be a sign of a liver problem.
> With his hair loss and now with green urine, I am
> concern he may have adrenal gland disease on the right
> side that has spread to his liver. Other causes of liver
> problems are possible too. I would start with bloodwork,
> urinalysis. Ultrasound may also be useful to look at his liver.
> Since he is 10 years old, exploratory surgery would not be my
first
option.
> It will be interesting to see what shows up,
> Jerry Murray, DVM
Another possibility in cases of green urine is hemolytic anemia -
I
have seen it occasionally in severe hemolytic anemias with
urine
bilirubins through the roof. Green urine can also be a sign of
severe urinary tract infection, possibly as a result of adrenal
disease, prostatic disease, and urine retention.
Unfortunately, my experience is that green urine is not a good
sign,
and indicates serious disease. I think that a CBC, chemistry,
and
urinalysis are better performed sooner than later.
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
-------
The further posts that I mentioned give more information adn
more possible causes.
You'd best read all the ones on this topic by the vets. Dr. Jerry
Murray has a lot of info on this in one of the posts mentioned
above . All the information from them is exceedingly helpful.