From:
"Lin"
Date: 2004-06-14 02:43:57 UTC
Subject: Seizures or Pain?
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <002d01c451b9$7b946960$2102a8c0@yourfulkl1oh2q>
Hi All:
My 2 yr old ferret, Max, started having what I can only compare to seizures=
last night. He'd be playing as usual, then go under the loveseat, lay down=
, close his eyes, & tense up, shaking & kicking his back legs, back toes cu=
rling upwards. I'd hold him for a min, then he'd totally relax & go limp. H=
e did this probably 6 or 7 times in the course of just over an hr. I rushed=
him to our vet, & of course, he behaved perfectly normally while there.
Earlier, he'd used the litterbox & passed a stool that was green & more-or-=
less solid, & not slimy. While at the vet's office, he shot out what I can =
only describe as about 2 tsp of watered down split pea soup, which had the =
most horrible smell imaginable.
We masked him down & got a blood sample, & did an abdominal xray. Xray was =
completely normal. Blood tests were also all w/in normal ranges (except for=
his WBC, which their machine there doesn't give reliable results on in fer=
rets, for some unknown reason. It read out as 62.9, which he said was the *=
exact* same result he got when our Ariel had a blood test not long before w=
e found out she had supraventricular tachycardia, & was impossibly high). B=
G was 139, but he expected that, as he'd been given Karo syrup just one hr =
before the test.
This morning, Max had 2 more episodes, not nearly as dramatic as the ones t=
he night before - mainly, he just went limp for 15-20 sec, then was back to=
normal. Speaking of which, he was behaving normally in between these episo=
des last night, too.
We're waiting on a stool culture (the solid green stuff, as well as the liq=
uid he shot out in the office). In the meantime, my vet is theorizing that =
perhaps, what w/ the stuff he was squirting out last night, that he may hav=
e some sort of infection that's causing him to have very bad waves of pain.=
He's starting him on a pain med (sorry I don't remember the name of it - n=
ewer than Torb, also an injectable, but can be mixed to be used as an oral =
suspension, which my husband will do in the morning - he's a pharmacist). H=
e's wondering whether these stiffness/limpness episodes were not seizures, =
but his response to pain (like people sometimes hold their breath & tense u=
p, then feel limp afterwards). We're not putting him on any antibiotics unt=
il the cultures come back.
We *do* have a new baby fuzzy in the house, as of Thur evening; however, he=
's been isolated from the others in a different part of the house until all=
*his* tests come back. However, my other 3 fuzzies have smelled him on my =
clothing. None of them (including the baby) have any symptoms of any sort.
Any ideas? Anyone else ever experience this? What was it? Does the pain the=
ory sound plausable?
Thanks for any & all feedback,
Lin