From:
kathie weber
Date: 2002-02-19 13:26:00 UTC
Subject: Re: [Ferret-Health-list] changing over time
Hi, I agree wholeheartedly with Sukie. Theres alot to
taking care of an ill ferret. I called the vet a
number of times usually on a weekend, when we thought
that it was the end and I needed to know what to do at
the end, and Barney pulled through. Our vet said that
all our love and caring is what kept him going, and a
the end we just cuddled until he took his last breath.
If you have an ill ferret, please do all the research
you can. They are so special and deserve all the
extras that we can give. Kathie still missing my
Barney.
--- Sukie Crandall <sukiecrandall@t...> wrote:
>
> --
> Just in case anyone who hasn't had ferrets in the
> family for a while
> now misunderstood: it's not a simple thing to keep
> ferrets as happy
> as possible during serious illness(es). There is
> fine tuning that
> goes on all the while, meds may be altered, or
> changed in proportion,
> or added, or given in different form, or... so that
> the process is
> one that changes over time throughout a ferret's
> illness. After
> having a few ferrets who go on to have months
> (sometimes over a year
> depending on the illness and the individual) more of
> quality life
> than expected a person begins to realize that this
> just is the way
> things work.
>
> Not all will be as active as elderly Warp is for
> their own reasons:
> disease type, personality, level of illness, etc.
> Warp's a nervous
> little soul, always has been.
>
> Warp, though, has appeared to be close to giving out
> several times,
> only to bounce back with a lot of attention and
> changes in medical
> approaches or doses, and that is NOT unusual. She
> is fine example of
> why it pays to picks the brains of others, and why a
> ferret
> knowledgeable vet who is willing to experiment
> around the individual
> needs of given ferret is such a treasure, not only
> for quantity of
> life, but for quality.
>
> Here are a few tips to providing quality of life:
> learn about meds
> and options, make sure that the vet and you both
> know everything the
> ferret is getting. Realize that the approaches
> used will change
> over the course of the illness so both appointments
> and phone
> discussions will increase. Make sure that the vet
> knows about the
> individual's personality (nervous and prone to food
> strikes, docile
> and eager to please, annoyed easily, etc.). Keep
> notes of future
> things to try as per your discussions with the
> treating vet. Keep
> medication charts to avoid missing or doubling meds
> and to know how
> long each has been used. These are as simple a
> lined sheet of paper
> on which you draw columns for each individual's
> medications while the
> rows are the dates.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
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