From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2004-05-12 02:16:30 UTC
Subject: Kodo is gone
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <20040512021630.50023.qmail@web50810.mail.yahoo.com>
Hi, everyone,
Very few ferrets get to see their tenth birthday.
While it's possible that Kodo did our best estimate of
his age says he didn't. I guess that old age and
medical problems catching up to him is something to be
expected, but... It doesn't make this any easier.
Kodo passed away on Saturday. According to both vets
who treated him during his last week of life it was
lymphoma that finally got him.
On Saturday morning we actually thought Kodo was doing
better. He had climbed to the top hammock to be with
Podo, something he hadn't done in at least a week. By
lunchtime we knew something was really wrong. He
breathing was ragged, his rear legs were useless
again, and he had been unable to get into the litter
pan even in the cage. He looked miserable.
It was too late to get to our regular vet, I couldn't
reach him or our local backup at home, and neither
emergency clinic had a ferret knowledgeable vet on
duty so we had to go across the state to try and find
help.
During the three and a half hour drive Kodo only
stirred once to bury himself in the bedding in the
cage. He didn't use the water bottle, the food bowl,
or the litter pan. I knew he was in real trouble. I
gave him water from a bowl while we waited for the vet
to arrive and he drank greedily and then finally
attacked his water bottle. That gave me the last
glimmer of hope I'd have for him.
I'll keep the rest brief: Kodo's abdomen was filled
with fluid. He was also severely dehydrated. X-rays
showed a second mass near a lung. His bowels were
completely shoved to one side by his huge spleen. The
vet said she could tap and drain the fluid but that
would make the dehydration worse. If she then gave
him fluids they'd just go back into his abdomen. With
hospitalization she might keep him alive until he
could see our regular vet on Monday but he wouldn't
bounce back at all. She felt it was time to let Kodo
go and I decided to let her take care of that after
talking with Keith.
After Kodo was gone she showed me some of the fluid
from his abdomen. It was bright red and definitely
contained a lot of blood. She also could now easily
feel the large mass in his spleen. Our Big Bear had
no chance of coming through this.
We don't know exactly how old Kodo was but the best
guess we have would make him nine and a half.
I want to thank everyone on the FHL who passed along
suggestions and information which helped with his
treatment over the past year or so. The idea of using
Clavamox to reduce his enlarged spleen came from the
list (Sukie and one other person whom I can't remember
at the moment) and that improved his quality of life
for several months. I am grateful for the help and
the resource this list has proven to be.
All the best,
Caity, Keith, and the five sorrowful survivors
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