From:
"cherylnj81"
Date: 2009-02-21 23:38:43 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] My ferret Nina does not have long
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
I can't believe this, Nina seemed fine, yes lethargic but she has
always been a lethargic ferret. She was eating her food up until
yesterday morning. Last night, I saw her butt hanging out from under
the dresser and I squeezed it jokingly, but she didn't pull it in or
anything, so I took her out and made her stand (I keep doing this as a
sort of test now that they are all seniors). She stood but didn't
move, trembling. I called around and rushed her to a vet who agreed
to meet me late at night, bless his soul. We thought it was just
maybe, she needed more liver medication or something (she's had high
liver values that have been controlled with Denasyl and Ursodiol for
the better part of a year). Her glucose was 136, and I gave her
sub-q's but she didn't perk up from them. SO anyway, at the vets we
decided to take an x-ray to rule out anything else going on, and it
came back very poor;y :( She has metastatic (?) cancer and over 50
little tumors all over. The doctor called them calcium deposit tumors
or calcified tumors? I am not sure, you can imagine I wasn't thinking
straight while he was talking.
One vet put her on pain meds and antibiotics, and the other vet I went
to (her regular one) at first wanted to put her on chemo and high dose
Pred, but then she started twitching her head and he said to put her
to sleep. Argh you can't imagine the sorrow I felt.
On the way home I decided to call the first vet, wondering why he
didn't recommend that. He said probably her pain medication was
wearing off about now, which may have made her look worse. This
morning at his office, she was walking around and relatively perky.
We were going to do the deed today, but I decided to give her pain
meds when we got home and see if she would eat, which she did
voraciously but with grinding teeth, although she is on Carafate.
The first vet told me, don't be ambivalent, be sure, and I am taking
his advice to heart. Maybe I am crazy but we picked up essiac on the
way home and are brewing it up. I also just orderd PolyMVA for pets &
Coenzyme Q10, and also artemisinin to be overnighted.
We have a vet we called who is willing to do a house call when the
time comes, but he will be on vacation part of this week. I just hope
I am doing the right thing by not PTS today. She has been
kissing/licking my face a lot and I attribute that to a kind of
contentment...who am I to decide how much one more minute or one more
hour or one more day is worth. I have also been thinking about this
thing called "natural death" which friends have mentioned- apparently
it is keeping her on pain meds but letting her pass on her own, at home.
How do you decide? what else can I do to prepare for this all?
Should I let the ferrets smell her? Some of them have been and
licking her face. Others just step on her :/ If the vet makes a
house call should they be away or able to be near during the whole
thing. I don't want to scare them but then on the other hand, I don't
want them to think all of a sudden a cage mate disappears.
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