From:
"darksetter"
Date: 2009-01-07 19:28:49 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] My 7 yr old ferret died sunday morning , please help me figure out why.
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Christmas morning dopy looked thin,had slight hind leg
weakness ,stairing into space and I noticed his food bowl was full.I
immediatley made mush and started dropper feeding him every four
hours.
He ate about 15 ml each feeding , but was not really improving and
slept all day, just getting up to go to the bathroom. His stools were
also very dark and tary looking that first day which put the thought
of a possible ulcer in my mind.
Friday dopy was eating 20 ml every four hrs and seemed to have a
bit more strengh in his hind legs plus his stools looked normal in
color.
saturday he went to the vet, she took his glucose twice and the
results were 49/53(normal 80-120) after about a four hr fast,weight
was 4 ounces under normal, she also sent out a cbc plus mammalian
comprehensive chemistry.The vet gave dopy fluid injections becuase he
was pretty dehydrated as well.
Sunday to thursday dopy did progressivly well each day, he got to the
point of eating 30-40ml of mush every 4-5 hrs,ate some kibble
sunday/moday.He also did his house tour each day progressivly better
as his hind legs would show more strengh after he walked for about 20
seconds,plus his digging and playing improved each day as well.
friday morning he had his best house tour and I though dopey was
really doing great, but the next time he awoke and tried to get
around he did a complete 360 and was in very bad shape again.The vet
finally called with the blood work results which showd glucose low
(33/range 80-120)
alkaline phosphatase high(174/range 15-45)total bilirubin high
(2.3/range.0-1.0) alt high(319/10-280)phosphorus low(4.0/range 4.2-
8.5)chloride high(111/range90-110).
The vets diagnosis was insulinoma with other things most likely
involved do to the high liver enzyme reading.
Saturday I rushed dopy into the vet at 8am totally dehydrated and
very weak(almost limp)He gave dopey fluids and checked his glucose
which was 70 after eating 1.5 hrs prior. dopy looked pretty upbeat
when the vet put him back in his cage, so I figured dopy would be ok
for a few more days till he could have an ultrasound to get a better
idea about whats going on. I also asked for fluids and syringes so I
could keep dopy hydrated if need be, plus prednisone incase things
got worse before monday.
To my surprise dopy never perked up and got progressivly worse every
hr, he would not eat at all, clamped his teeth down by 3 pm and his
breathing was very faint as I watched his tummy bob up and down. his
body was nealry limp at this point and he was going to the bathroom
rite where he was sleeping. He tried a few times to move to another
one of his loved sleeping areas around the house , but had no power
to move himself.
At this point I thought we were in live or die mode and needed to try
some karo on his gums, the karo seemed to do nothing at all.I also
gave him .5 mg prednisone to try and keep him from crashing since his
teeth were clenched and I could not get food in him.
by 4 pm he was unresponsive , just laying flat ,eyes open ,stairing
straight ahead,dehydrating again.
After this I debated whether I should give dopy fluid injections or
let him go.I decided I was not gonna force him to live anymore and
would lay by his side 24/7 so he was not alone when he passed.
As the hrs passed by he was in what seemed to be a comatose state.I
was hoping he would just stop breathing soon , like his sisters did
yrs ago from full body cancer and die painlessly in his own
surroundings.
About 10 pm dopey had a small siezure ,then slept for ahile.He had
another siezure 20 minutes later and the siezures got progressivly
worse to the point he starting screaming and foaming at the mouth
with his teeth clenched down on a shirt.My wife and I were
hystericaly crying at this time and felt awfull beyond anything I
will ever be able to describe.
Three or so hrs had passed with dopy laying in a comotose state, when
he starting screaming and thrashing violently. My wife and I were
both crying hysterically and I imediatley told her we have to take
him to get put to sleep. It was a 20 minute drive and the entire time
dopy was screaming and thrashing.
My wife has epilepsy and said dopy probably was compotose 12 hrs
earlier and did not feel a thing no matter how horrific it looked
when he was siezing.No matter what she says , for the rest of my life
I will feel awfull and constantly second guess myself for every
decision I made that day.
Dopy was visually completely healthy for 7 yrs until christmas morning
(full coat, besides 2 inches on the end of the tail which hes had for
3 yrs,ferret dance daily, same bodyweight for 5 yrs ect..) ,I just
cant believe 10 days later hes gone from insulinoma alone when he was
being fed every four hrs, it does not make sense to me since the vets
did not act like this was a life threatening crisis after examining
him.
I hope someone could shed more light on what mite have happened to
dopy based the blood test results and the event timeline I described.
Also is there anything else I could have done durring that time frame?
Thanks for reading!
Rob
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