From:
"AM Weber"
Date: 2006-09-04 05:58:11 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Sick ferret - possible pancreatitis
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Hello,
I'm not really sure what I am looking for, just a sounding board I guess.
I'm just sort of grasping at ropes here and thought that perhaps others have
had this situation & can advise me as to how they dealt with it? I'm afraid
that the time for my Buddy to go is near, but I can't tell if he is in pain
or not & unless he is I can't let him go.
My ferret Buddy is 6 1/2 years old. He has had IBD for the whole time I
have had him (I adopted him at 4 years) and up until recently he was on 1/4
tablet Predisone every other day & 1cc Immuran every three days. That
seemed to keep him healthy & fairly active. He was also previously on
different sets of Amoxidrops, Baytril, Carafate & Metronidazole (I don't
know if that is the same as Metronidazole Benzoate or just a derivative of
it).
However he has taken a turn for the worse. He has lost some strength in his
back legs. One visit to the emergency room was because he collapsed & was
pulling himself along with his hind legs. Another was because he was
vomiting. Numerous sonograms have revealed a non-operable cyst in his liver
as well as either pancreatitis or a type of cancer in his pancreas (not
insulinoma).
This is an on-going problem, two months ago he had exploratory surgery for
what the doctors believed was a blockage after looking at his x-rays,
however they did not find anything. That was when he was put on pred &
immuran.
He is now on Metronidazole Benzoate .2cc two times a day, Pepcid .05cc once
a day and Sucralfate .25cc two times a day. He will no longer eat the
Carnivore Care that I am supposed to give him 2-3 times a day as a
supplement. He is still eating & drinking normally & has not lost any
weight.
He came back after being in the hospital for three days on the 25th. I am
supposed to take him back for another sonogram to see if he is responding to
the medicine in 28 days.
However giving him medicine is getting impossible. I have tried putting it
in the Carnivore Care (when he was eating it) and putting it in ferretone,
but he just refuses. He starts whimpering when I pick him up to give him
medicine & fights me every step of the way. I now require help to hold him
as he is breaking out of his scruff & acting wild.
He has also started urinating & pooping on me every time I give him the
medicine, even if I have made sure he has used the litter box before I
started. This bothers me because I don't know if it is a response to pain
or just not wanting to take his medicine.
Is there anyway to tell if he is in pain? I want to keep him alive & with
me as long as possible, but not if his quality of life is suffering.
Another factor that I am dealing with is that his sister adores him &
follows him around everywhere. She took the death of her two other cage
mates in previous years hard & I don't think that she would live very long
without her brother. She hates all other ferrets and has all the time I
have had her, so she will only have me, but I am out of the house 4 days a
week 12 hours at a time for work. They are separated from my other ferrets
since she is so violent with them.
While he was in the hospital, she barely ate or drank & would either run all
over my apartment looking for him or just stay in one place on the floor
(not in a sleep sack or other bedding). I had to hand feed her to make sure
she was ok.
Does anyone have any ideas what I can do, either to give him medicine, to
make him more comfortable, or to tell if he is in pain? Right now he his
scampering around & seems fine except his footing isn't as sure as it used
to be.
Also any ideas on treatment that I could run past his vet would really be
helpful. If nothing else, thanks for letting me "vent".
Thanks,
Anna
====================================================================<<<
Orange Broadband click below:
http://ads.smartgroups.com/adclick/CID=000000b7c79a99a500000000
====================================================================>>>
--
If you want to share pictures, use the calendar, or start a vote
visit http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
To leave the group, email: ferrethealth-unsubscribe@smartgroups.com
Report abuse http://www.smartgroups.com/text/abusereport.cfm?gid%3D1423922&mid%3D18218