From:
sukieferret
Date: 2001-12-23 22:51:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Injured Pet. Please help!!
Stacie, if you do not have savings or insurance here are some
things that I know folks have done when costs exceeded
expectations:
1. Defer something else, if possible. (This is what we had to do
this year when ferret medical costs far, far exceeded what we
had budgeted, so we cancelled vacation and did not replace our
ancient flooring. Next year we get to be more creative about
saving due to the Labs dissolving, but it's something that is
virtually always do-able so we aren't worried, yet, knowing that
about 10 years ago we were patching patches on undies to get
out from under our mortgage, and having been through worse.
Hopefully, that is an option for you.)
2. See if you can trade labor for part of the cost. I have read of
more than a few people doing this by scrubbing at the vet
hospital, doing secretarial jobs, or otherwise providing needed
work. Heck, I know of one doctoral student who cleaned litter
boxes and cages when that was helpful; it worked.
3. See if the veterinarian will allow you to pay on time, or -- if the
vet's interest rates are higher than a credit card's, use credit but
try to pay it off fast to not have a debt burden.
Hope these ideas help!
Hopefully, the eye will heal fine if that is feasible. A large number
of years ago we had Haleakala who came to us as a retired
breeder who wouldn't let a male near her again after one put a
canine through one of her eyes. It healed without sight except for
light and shadow before we got her.
Have you considered removing the eye? It might be the best
solution. Ferrets really don't use vision much; they are mostly
more smell oriented. It is actually not at all unusual for someone
to encounter a blind ferret and never know that it is blind
because of how well the ferret does. We have had a number
over the years with reduced sight or no sight who did fine. In
those cases simply leave furniture in standard places and mark
things the ferret may bump with safe essential oils (available at
health food stores and other places) and combos of mints,
spices, and fruits just smell SO good, too. You can even use an
assortment of oils to give a sense of direction. Warp used to
need those as she was losing sight, but now she navigates just
fine without them. That is pretty normal.
Hopefully, at least one of these options will work as well for you
as they have for us and for others.
with hopes for a reasonable resolution,
Sukie
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "stacie789" <stacie789@y...> wrote:
> Hi, We have a one year old ferret. His name is Sandy and he
has a
> pretty serious injury. He got out of the house on Thursday
(20th)
> and we believe, encountered a cat. His right eye has been
punctured
> through near the pupil. He was seen by a Vet and he has been
referred
> to a Optimaligist for Pets. Surgery is required to repair the eye
> from completely rupturing. He has been a trouper through this
but is
> in a lot of pain. Because of the holidays he will not be able to
be
> seen by the Optimaligist until this christmas week. Our
problem is
> that we do not have the means to pay for surgery for Sandy.
We dont
> know what to do. If anyone has anykind of information that will
> assist us in having something done to help our littlest
memeber of
> our family it would be greatly appreciated. Please email us at
> StacieandGlenn@a...
>
> Thank You,
>
> Stacie