From:
nursebubbie@yahoo.com
Date: 2003-04-24 00:55:52 UTC
Subject: urinary blockage/bladder abscess
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <17585856.1051145752605.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Hello All,
I am new to this particular list, but am hoping you
can share any
experiences/info you might have...
6 days ago, I took in a 5 year old Male Albino
ferret that had been
fed "Atta-Cat" (!!%&^!??!) and suffered from not
only severe
malnutrition but was also going into renal failure
from a urinary
blockage. Within hours, my vet had expelled the
blockage and Buddy
began eating and drinking again...
Unfortunately, later the next day, Buddy's labs came
back and clearly
reflected that his kidneys were barely functioning.
The vet was
really worried about leftover sediment/toxins, etc.
causing another
blockage before he could recover from this one - or
that his kidneys
would shut down completely.
This time, the vet opened Buddy up and found a large
abscess on the
outside of Buddy's bladder. As he was trying to
extract the abscess,
it burst. They immediately flushed out Buddy's
system and removed
all they could find of abscess remnants, etc. Thank
goodness, he had
already been on antibiotics from the UTI they found
while expressing
the blockage 48 hours prior, so that's a blessing.
His antibiotics
are still continuing.
It had been three days, and Buddy had become
MUCH more robust,
energetic (in 20-30 minute spurts) and is eating and
drinking. (In
fact, he seemed overly thirsty to me.) He had slowly
started pooping
normally and his urine puddles were a medium to light
yellow instead
of the awful, concentrated color they were.
In spite of his quickly gaining
strength and
progressing recovery, he still urinated
frequently in quarter
(coin)- size puddles, and occasionally as he is
running around, he
will "drag" his butt sort-of (not exactly the same
way they do after
they poop), so I know he was still experiencing discomfort, even if he's not letting it slow him down much.
He was improving by leaps and bounds except for the
continued frequent
urination and here-and-there "bootie dragging" not
related to bowel
movements (that I can tell).
Now, about 4 more days after the above, he seems to be in a slow decline again, with his terrific appetite becoming mediocre again, as well as him being more fatigued and the urinary frequency continuing. He's also not pooping again as he should be (and was for a few days).
He goes back to the vet at 730a tomorrow, and I'm thinking he's already got another blockage forming (as well as the possibility of scar tissue in his urethra) or - that his kidneys are failing -and...we're going to lose him because it's too late to reverse the damage that's been done to him - plus, we are not going to make him continually endure procedures, poor thing.
Does anyone have experience with this
type of situation?
I have been searching the internet and cannot seem
to find much on
this type of scenario and especially, prognosis and
information on
treatments. So far, this has not been able to be
linked to a cause
of adrenal disfunction or prostate problems.
Ferrets become ill and it's a sad thing we all go through,
especially
when we ultimately lose them. This one has been particularly
difficult (aren't they all) because it wasn't even an "illness"
thing, but something that could have been totally avoided
and prevented. Happens all of the time, I know - but this poor
little guy.......ah, you all know what I'm saying.
Sorry for the wordy post - any ideas or sharing
appreciated!
Take care,
Stacey and the 8 Bubbies
www.BubbieLove.com (under construction)