From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-06-19 23:53:00 UTC
Subject: Re: My pup ate ferret poop!
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., rosie contessa-yudelson <om-
mani8@e...> wrote:
>
>
> Hi-
> Here's a good one for the Docs...My 10 week old boxer pup ate some
ferret
> poop from the litter box yesterday, she woke up vomiting last night
and had
> really bad diarrhea today...I busted her again today, after she was
feeling
> better, and w/in the hour, there she was vomiting again! She and I
had just
> returned home when she did it.I didn't know that she'd done it last
night,
> or I would have lifted the box up. My husband busted her yesterday,
but
> forgot to tell me. She looks pathetic, although the diarrhea is now
gone.
> Have you ever heard of this? If so, what the heck is in the GI
tract of a
> ferret that would make my puppy sick??? Should I bring her into my
Doc in
> the AM?????
>
Dear Rosalie - many dogs eat ferret poop with no ill effects - I own
one. She likes that crunchy snack food we put in the corners!
There is really nothing bad in ferret poop, and little that is
transmissible (perhaps Giardia, but that's pretty rare.) Dogs seem
to tolerate it much better than their owners. I can't think of
anything that would make her vomit immediately - this is not the
typical response. But it's probably a good thing and she will
eventually get the idea that poop is not for eating.
If the vomiting is simply a product of eating the poop, and not seen
outside of this activity, I don't think a special vet visit is
needed. However, let's make sure to keep those
vaccination/worming/and checkup visits.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM