From:
John Rosloot
Date: 2002-02-12 00:22:00 UTC
Subject: complications after blockage
Hi all.
I'd like some advice about my boy Buster. He has a bad habit of chewing
fabric. On Wednesday, January 23 he some how got hold of one of my dirty
socks, chewed it up and swallowed some. I gave him some laxative, but by
morning he was in obvious distress, gagging and pawing at his mouth, and
unable to poop except for small runny bits.
I brought him to the vet. He x-rayed Buster and in addition to a blockage
saw some sort of cyst in his belly, so he operated. The cyst was a fluid
filled sack near one of the kidneys; biopsy indicated it was harmless. He
drained the cyst and removed the blockage.
The next morning (Friday) Buster was still a bit nauseous and wasn't eating
much yet, so the vet wanted to observe him over the weekend.
Over the weekend Buster started eating and pooping, but also developed a
fever. They put him on anti-biotics, but by Monday he had a large inflamed
patch of skin on his stomach and extending around his flank. They added
anti-inflammatories to his meds.
On Tuesday what looked like a bruise appeared on one spot on his stomach.
The day after that it burst open and leaked fluid from the large inflamed
area under the skin. The doctor took a sample from the wound for lab culture
but at first it came back with no sign of infection. The doctor thought
Buster might be having a reaction to his stitches, and if he had one in
the bowel it could be fatal. Since Buster was feeling stronger on Thursday
the doctor decided to replace his stitches in case this was an allergic
reaction. He also removed a lot of damaged tissue from inside Buster's
wound, although the bowel itself appeared to be fine.
The next morning Buster seemed perky, had good energy, appetite and a good
temperature. His wound was continuing to drain so the vet wanted to keep
him a little longer. By Monday (February 4th) the lab came back positive
on a bacterial culture from Buster's wound: clostridium. The vet switched
to another antibiotic which should be more effective. Also, since this
organism doesn't do well in oxygen he wanted to allow the wound to continue
to drain and breathe.
Through the week Buster's temperature, appetite and energy fluctuated.
He developed another smaller inflamed patch on his chest, but it shrunk
away and never burst like the first had. On Thursday he developed two
new small wounds on his belly, but the vet said the body was just trying
to drain the original inflamed area which *was* very large. He said the
skin underneath appeared to be getting more healthy. On Friday Buster was
more energetic and his wounds did look better. But his temperature was
still not stable and the vet wanted to watch him a little longer.
On Saturday Buster's pee was darker than usual. The vet figured this was
the body cleaning out damaged and dead tissue. But by today (Monday) his
pee was still dark and his energy was not as good. He also looked a little
pale. Blood tests indicated a slightly elevated white cell count, and a
reduced red cell count. Tests also indicated his red cells were not being
replaced as quickly as they should (I think this is called non-regenerative
anemia?).
I am becoming very worried about Buster. It's been almost 3 weeks since
he went in, and every time it looks like he may be home soon, something
else comes up. I don't know much about anemia, what may cause it and how
to treat it. Buster is only 8 months old, and at 4.25 pounds never seemed
frail. Why is all this happening?
I should note that this vet has treated ferrets for 25 years and has
treated my ferrets for 10 years. I trust that my boy is in good hands.
But this is going on so long, I'm so worried about my boy, I don't know
what to do.
Any advice would be appreciated.
--
John Rosloot, Caregiver to Buster and Pandora
With loving memories of my dear departed Buddy,
my precious little Cassie-angel,
And my silly snuggly Sammy
http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~john/ferrets
john@c...