From:
"Dale Nupp"
Date: 2002-11-28 01:23:45 UTC
Subject: Post-op Ferret Not Eating - Help
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <000a01c2967c$fe7e5b00$72e1fea9@dalenupp>
Hello All:
I'll start with my two questions first and then give some history. Fir=
st, how much food can you force into a ferret belly at one time, my most r=
ecent force feeding was about 10cc's of Science Diet AD, is this too much,=
too little? I'm feeding that much about twice a day. The second question=
is whether or not there are any other thoughts on what I might do to bring=
him back to a healthier weight?
Here's some history. Willy is now a 5.5 year old male. About a year a=
nd a half or so ago, during an annual checkup my vet indicated that Willy h=
ad an enlarged spleen and it might have to come out in a year or two. At t=
hat time Willy weighed 3 1/2lbs. He was not overly concerned at that time =
since everything else was normal. Then, in January of this year Willy bega=
n to slowly lose weight and sleep more than normal. It was hard to tell si=
nce he normally loses weight towards summer anyway. Unfortunately, he did =
not gain weight back this fall. In August, after a significant weight loss=
, he weighed 2lbs, 10 ozs, but continued to appear normal. At that time, m=
y vet then suggested that the spleen come out sometime this fall. I agreed=
to bulk him up before surgery. I was unsuccessful. Willy had surgery on =
11/15. Right before surgery, he weighed 2lbs, 6 ozs. At that time, my vet=
took out his spleen and left adrenal gland which was slightly enlarged. H=
e said the rest of Willy's innards looked good except for "slightly mottled=
structures" of the liver which my vet says he often sees in older ferrets.=
Right before surgery Willy had a blood test that was normal in all respect=
s except for a liver enzyme aclinphositase (sp?) which was slightly elevate=
d. My vet said he dosen't see that elevation in ferrets and is stumped as t=
o what it means. Willy came home the next day. He ate kibble like a hors=
e for three days and then stopped eating on his own. I started to hand fee=
d him, not force feed him, Science Diet for a week and he stopped eating th=
at too. He was so skinny so back to the vet I went yesterday expecting to =
put him down. Thankfully my vet felt there was a lot of life left in Willy=
. When I took him in last night he weighed 2lbs although some of the weigh=
t loss is attributable to the missing spleen. Unfortuantely my vet forgot =
to weigh either Willy or his spleen, post-op. As an aside he said he was t=
reating a fuzzy with ECE, ulcers and adrenal disease and that fuzzy was a l=
ot sicker than Willy. =
Anyway, my vet gave Willy a shot of fluids, prednisone, and force fed h=
im Science Diet which Willy eagerly ate, of course to make a liar out of me=
. He had more energy than he has had for weeks and actually dug at the car=
pet for awhile last night. The vet sent him home with me since I would pro=
bably give him better care than he might get in a hospital during a holiday=
week. The vet said to give him .5cc to 1cc of prednisone twice a day and =
force feed him. .5cc's of pred is all I can get into him before he realize=
s he ates it. The vet indicated that a side effect of pred was hunger and =
it might ease the force feeding. I'm to call the vet on Friday if I'm stil=
l concerned. Of course I'm concerned. Any positive answers to my question=
s would be appreciated. Willy was my first rescue four years ago and I'd l=
ike to keep the little guy around for another couple of years if I can. Ma=
ny thanks.
=
Dale