From:
jtapp9@comcast.net
Date: 2003-02-19 17:06:01 UTC
Subject: Food Allergy?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <18342287.1045674361628.JavaMail.root@scandium>
I have an approximately 9 m/o Male albino MF ferret. I am wondering if poss=
ible symptoms could be a food allergy and, if so, what would treatments and=
possible food changes would be in order.
I am starting to really worry about his overall health because of these iss=
ues.
A week ago last Saturday we discovered he had bloody poops...nothing but bl=
ood and mucuos..no actual poop...had to go to emergency vet. He did a fecal=
and suggested colitis/enteritis and gave us sucralfate until Monday when w=
e could see our vet. We gave him a dose of sucralfate saturday night and ag=
ain on Sunday morning. On sunday morning we force fed him a soup mixture an=
d he ate it. sunday afternoon we attempted to feed him soup again(he had st=
opped eating kibble or anything on his own), he ate some then started to re=
tch, we put him down and he projectile vomited what he had eaten. by then h=
is poop had cleared (no more blood, normal looking). We also noticed his fe=
et were swelled and his blood had come to the surface of the skin (looked l=
ike hives but no bumps, he is albino). Had to go back to emergency vet. Ran=
blood test showing a few slight lows and highs but nothing significant. Ve=
t treated as allergic reaction to the sucralfate, gave sub-q with antihista=
mine and steroid,and reglan for nausea, and sent us home with clavamox and =
flagyl mixed in. Sunday evening and most of monday, he started acting norma=
l again and even ate 'some' kibble. Told my vet this and was instructed 'if=
' he is ok, just follow up, if he gets worse come in...the next step would =
be xrays...
By tuesday morning he was once again listless and not eating anything...too=
k to regular vet and did a barium series and could find nothing. Continued =
medication with no improvement and some weight lose, and no clue what else =
it may be. On Friday, my fear of the weekend and going to emergency vet aga=
in, I requested an exploratory surgery to completely rule out a blockage no=
t seen with xrays. The only thing found in surgery was inflamed pancreas so=
we are assuming pancreatitis. He is still taking Clavamox and flagyl mixed=
and has been taking antirobe since surgery....On saturday evening after ad=
ding the antirobe and adding heavy whipping cream to soup, he had extreme b=
odily itching all night, it seemed to end on Sunday so I cut down on the cr=
eam and have not had anymore itching episodes. He is not doing any better.
He will eat if hand fed soup. Sometimes he spits some up, not vomit, and so=
metimes he will retch like he is going to throw up but doesn't. His normal =
kibble was Zupreem, TFS Superior choice, and both adult Eukanuba cat foods =
and the Eukanuba kitten.
His soup is made up of Iams canned kitten, some HSD a/d, water, ferretvite,=
and I have started adding heavy whipping cream for calories. He is not let=
hargic (dazed) he is just listless and sleeping constantly. When we wake hi=
m up he is very coherent. He has dropped from around 2 1/2 lbs down to 1 lb=
12-13 oz in about 2 weeks.
We don't know what to do from this point...I live in the middle of Arkansas=
and vets are not 'extremely' knowledgeable about ferrets, just somewhat. I=
know my vet cares deeply about my animals and wants to make this little gu=
y better....
It is not something that is contagious, I have 15 other ferrets and no one =
else is sick.
Does anyone have any advice or thoughts on this.
Could it be a food allergy? or just pancreatitis?
What should we do?
Julie and 'Clyde'
P.S. Clyde came to us about 3 months ago from a petstore that says she gets=
them older on purpose for temperment, so I don't know what he was eating b=
efore coming to me
=