From:
Donna R Clark
Date: 2002-01-15 13:30:00 UTC
Subject: [Ferret-Health-list] Veterinary Update on Chewy
ERRATIC BREATHING PROBLEMS
Dear Mary;
Just got finished reading your post about Chewy and then I
looked at the picture. He is adorable. I hope that things
improve as much as they can for little Chewy.
I wanted to write to let you know that I and my Stinky are
going through basically the same thing as you and Chewy. The
only difference is that Stinky does not insulinoma, he has
liver function failure. He is our oldest ferret out of
eight(and two fosters.) I found out in June that he had
adrenal and in October that he had cardio. And I found out
the day after Christmas that he has liver problems now.
He will be eight in March. He walks around, still goes to the
litterbox fine, drinks plenty of water and loves to eat. He
is very kissy and affectionate. At this time in his life, he
likes to take short naps laying in my lap, okay with me.
Stink is a small sable male. At this time he has very little
fur left. I still have him on Lupron, to keep him as
comfortable as possible. Stinky is on Lasix(.25mg 2x a
day)and a quarter tablet of Enacard every day. He is on
pedipred as well. I know that I can not make him well, but I
can make him as comfortable as possible
Be sure give Chewy about 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoons of strained
sweet potatoes every other day. Since he is on Lasix, he
needs to supplement his potassium. Sweet potatoes are very
high in potassium. Otherwise you will have to have his levels
checked on a regular basis(expensive). The sweet potatoes can
be Gerber's or any of the baby foods. I don't think it should
bother his insulinoma, but check to be sure. You can even ask
on the FHL. And make sure there is plenty of water available
to him. Lasix tends to make them very thirsty. It works very
much like a diuretic.
I just wanted to write and let you know that you are not alone
in the struggle to keep your little guy comfortable. My
prayers are with you and Chewy.
Donna(and my eight furry owners)
----- Original Message -----
From: Mary Alvarez-Cabreras
To: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 10:25 AM
Fwd: ERRATIC BREATHING PROBLEMS
Greetings All:
Our trip to the Vet this Saturday past found that Chewy's in
pretty bad shape. He has Cardiomyopathy which was causing
fluid to build up in his lungs, as was suggested by Dr.
Williams and others on the list. The X-Ray of his chest
showed that his heart is enlarged and he only has one clear
lung, the other was filled with fluid. He was given an
injection of Lasix and is getting it orally three times a
day (along with Amoxcil). His Vet offered to admit him for
two days but unfortunately I live in another state and
returning to pick him up would have been impossible until
the end of the week and that was not going to happen, not to
mention the cost, and especially because I couldn't imagine
him being alone with strangers. Thank God, he did pass the
48 Hour Danger Zone and he's doing better.
He needs a sonogram done on his heart so there'll be a
clearer understanding of which medications will work better
for him. I'm paying close attention to his breathing, at
the moment his breaths are short and quick but as he
improves the Vet stated they should become deeper and
longer. The Lupron that he was on was stopped because it
wasn't working for him at all. I myself stopped giving him
Pediapred about two weeks ago because I felt as though it
was affecting his stomach, and the Vet agreed with my
decision because it actually raises the blood pressure (and
he doesn't need that right now!).
Chewy is eating very well as always, he actually gained
weight since last month, which isn't necessarily a good
thing but my boy LOVES food and I'm thankful that he can
still enjoy it. He's still walks around alittle bit even
though he stumbles and has trouble with his hind legs every
now and again. His energy is very low, as his Blood Glucose
has been in the 40's (even with the Pediapred) for a few
months now but he's learned to cope with it.
My poor little guy is going through alot (Adrenal Disease,
Insulinoma, and now Cardiomyopathy) but you would never
really know it, he's always so quiet and has nothing but
kisses to offer. He's really tough and I'm learning alot
from him. For now, I guess we all have to remember that
Life is precious and we'll all go through hard times in our
old age (except we won't look as cute!).
PS: Please know that all the sick little fuzzies you guys
have out there are in my prayers!
Take care,
Mary & Chewy
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