From:
"k. dow"
Date: 2009-01-26 08:23:27 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Mystery death
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Arturos was about 3. I got him as a rescue last July.
When he first got home he was a barrel-rolling ball of goof. He
mellowed out after a couple months, but was still active and healthy.
ADV neg, etc.
In the last week or so, he'd been flat-ferreting a bit more, but
nothing severe enough to raise red flags. Was up and ate glop last
night, no problem.
Chris and I left for work about the same time today. I fed the old
insulinomic guys but didn't check in on the younguns. But Chris says
when he got up, Artur was awake, poking his head out from under the
mat he was burrowed under, looking around.
When Chris went in tonight to let the weez out, Artur was cold and
stiff. He looked like he was sleeping. No trauma. No abdominal
discoloration, etc.
My only clues are the flat-ferreting this past week and the following:
1. His skin looks like he has a rash. Not sure if that was the case
before his death or not -- it certainly wasn't as of a couple of days
ago. Not a raised-bumps kinda rash, but petechiae all over. I have
checked the other three ferrets and they have no sign of anything
similar. I have heard this can happen in acute heart failure, at least
in people.
2. In the litterbox, I found what, as far as I can tell, was
completely undigested glop. Color, texture, even smell pretty much
identical to how it goes in. Also some normal poops, but those were
probably Tessa's.
The only thing out of the ordinary that I have done recently was give
them each a cat dose of revolution to fight some stubborn ear mites
that have been driving Tannis crazy. That was about five days ago. The
only thing I can possibly think of is that he had heartworms that we
were unaware of and the higher dose killed the heartworms and by
extension, him. But that seems like a long shot to me, especially five
days later. It also doesn't explain the undigested food. And the
others are fine -- or at least, they seem fine right now.
He's in the fridge and will be taken in for necropsy tomorrow. I'm
baffled and of course concerned that I missed something that could
have been reversed. I'm also still pretty much in shock that he's
gone. I'd only had him for about six months, but he was such a sweet
little kissyface, and I expected him to be around for several more
years.
Anyone have any ideas?
-Kat
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