From:
Raymond Hicks
Date: 2003-05-04 19:59:50 UTC
Subject: Very sick ferret
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <20030504195950.31215.qmail@web12004.mail.yahoo.com>
Hi everyone.
I'm sorry my first message to the group is a sad one,
but I need help.
My fiancee and I have 4 ferrets. Well, had. One has
died. My best guess puts it at sometime within the
last 24 hours. We were unable to be home yesterday all
day because of finals (my fiancee attends college and
I work there). So, we're not sure exactly when she
died. Her name was Kylendra (Kylli, for short)
The real problem now is her sister. Examination of
Kylli doesn't show any real problem other than a
little bit of skinniness, and I'm assuming this is
from death. I mention this because Pockets, her sister
(blood sister, actually), appears to be wasting away.
She smells of infection and one eye was glued shut
this morning from pus, which we have repeatedly washed
out today. Her hind quarters appears very wasted
(skinny) and hind legs don't appear to be 100%
functional (maybe 40%-50%). I have felt her legs and
there appears to be less muscle mass than previously.
In her stomach area, we see a firm "lump" but we can't
be sure if this is a sign of blockage or other organ
visible due to extreme weight loss or maybe even part
of the skeletal structure.
When we first found her this morning, her body
temperature was "not warm to the touch" and she was
very sluggish.
She is taking water now, and ferretone. We have gotten
her temperature back up by keeping her on heat packs
and covering her with towels that have been wet down
and heated in the microwave and place in wal-mart bags
(to keep her from getting wet) and then placed over
her. She is warmer and not so sluggish (her tail is
even warm).
We immediately bathed her when we found her in this
condition this morning. It seems to appear that her
eyes are slightly withdrawn, but not much and they
have appeared to "fill out" as the day has progressed,
but I don't know if this is imagination sparked by
panic.
Any ideas? The nearest vet that we can find that will
take ferrets is in Charlotte and its a 2 hour drive.
Since she keeps perking up, I can't help but wonder if
she's just grieving, but there's the challenge of:
"How, and when, do I start feeding her again?"
If anyone would need a photo, I can take one and email
it.
thanks..
Raymond
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