From:
"jbmccaughey"
Date: 2010-08-03 01:45:54 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Kidney/Renal Disease or Failure?
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
{The following reply is what is being done for a cat so remember
that ferrets are not cats, dogs, or humans, and discuss these
things with a vet but don't automatically expect that what works
for a cat will work for a ferret.
-- Moderator]
A vet nephrologist recommended supplementing additional taurine to a member of a feline CRF list because of its kidney protective properties. Many members have started doing this and a few have reported a decrease in the kidney numbers though they do fluctuate. The baby food and Ferretvite are probably not providing enough anyway. I can't find an RDA of sorts for ferrets but have read that the requirement may be even greater than that of a cat per lb of body weight. Some members supplement 100mg/day for their cats, some more. It's not something that's considered harmful in larger amounts because the excess is supposed to be excreted. But one member said her cat experienced loose stools when she gave him more than 200mg initially though now he is up to 250mg/day.
I'm not sure I would start a phos binder just yet as her serum phos is on the low side. And Epakitin is a calcium based binder so you may then have to worry about calcium increase. Most on the feline CRF lists prefer Aluminum Hydroxide. My cat was on ALOH until the holistic vet put him on supplements and recommended I stop the binder for a while and his phos, BUN, Creat are holding steady but he is also receiving fluids.
My CRF cat gets about 100mg/day additional taurine, about 30mg/day CoQ10, and about 1/4 of a capsule of NF Spectra Probiotic which has 8 strains of bacteria. Azodyl has 3 strains of bacteria but I have yet to find which ones they are. I purchased the NF because the gut naturally has many strains.
I use about 1/4 capsule of the probiotic in the ferrets soup as well but it is shared by 3. Some feline list members have said this can cause nausea in higher amounts, so it's another product to start low and see how they do before increasing.
I personally would start with taurine, probiotic and fluids.
Jaime
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