From:
"SukieC"
Date: 2011-11-07 15:15:25 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Need some advice
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Yes, like most people with ferrets, we, too, have done without other things to afford needed vet care, and we also have to travel for veterinary care. Also, since we have had ferrets in our family for thirty years and because we have had some with unusual conditions we have been in the situation of at times having vets who either needed specialists to help, or in the earlier years vets had no formal training in ferrets but who were happy to learn and happy to call those who knew more in order to learn. In fact, at one point in the dim past when we were using a different hospital and different vets than we now use, we ourselves bought the earliest veterinary texts for one veterinary hospital for the use of the vets there and later loaned others and loaned two video tapes on the topic.
There are ways to get veterinary care when the vets have not actually studied ferrets, but it may take checking around to find one who is happy to learn. If travel is not possible then learning is sometimes possible depending on the vet's available time and on what equipment the veterinarian has.
Obviously, ferrets are not things; they are loving, furry individuals, and while lists, including he excellent FHL, supplement the ability to provide sufficient care for ferrets they can never replace veterinary care. *****Nothing can.***** Having a pet is in some ways like having a child. Basic needs absolutely must be met including medical care; if they can not be met then the home is unsafe for the individual.
For me it is unclear how much of the problem in this case rests with not getting the care, how much rests with inability to weigh the problems and take care of the critical situation promptly, or how much rests with the vet not knowing what to do and perhaps not getting copies of the highly informative responses which have so far been provided. Many veterinarians have never studied ferrets and there is no shame in them seeking help and in the client paying for those consultation phone calls.
The mishmash reported on this situation so far leads to a confusing and terribly frustrating situation for list members who are well aware that without prompt treatment to bring this ferret out of heat she is very likely to pass away. That is frightening and more so because it should be avoidable.
An excellent general point has been made in multiple messages from other posters:
if it is not possible to get to a knowledgeable veterinarian, and if it is not possible to afford veterinary care then a person really needs to stick to pets of types which can be afforded and which the veterinarian who is available knows how to treat. There simply is absolutely no alternative to knowledgeable and sufficient veterinary care.
There are those who help by running shelters which is yet another excellent point made by other list members because surrender of the ferret to someone who does without to provide veterinary care and who can get to a vet might be a viable option.
This is the link to the SOS (Support our Shelters) which has lists of ferret shelters:
http://supportourshelters.org/
Click in the second life preserver to get to the list of shelters then just go to the right states. It is easy to do.
Here is the direct shelter list for outside the U.S. and for states with names beginning with
A through Idaho:
http://www.supportourshelters.org/SOS-ShelterList.html
If this ferret came from a reputable breeder who expected the kit to be spayed then the breeder may be able to be convinced to pick up this kit and take her home for veterinary care as a surrender, but if the breeder is not a reputable one then the ferret will be best off with a shelter.
This one goes from there through N:
http://www.supportourshelters.org/SOS-ShelterList2.html
After that through T:
http://www.supportourshelters.org/SOS-ShelterList3.html
Then the rest of the states:
http://www.supportourshelters.org/SOS-ShelterList4.html
Now, anyone should be able to zoom in rapidly on the right states.
The American Ferret Association also maintains a list of shelters:
http://www.ferret.org/links/shelters.html
One way or another the only loving thing that can be done for this ferret is to provide the veterinary care she so desperately needs to come out of heat and to do so promptly. If that can not be done locally, and if travel is impossible, then the only reasonable solution is for someone else to have her, I'm afraid, because from the sounds of things with this ferret failure to treat is going to result in death, and that is an unacceptable "solution".
Yes, there are times when reading the FHL or moderating it hurts emotionally. I am sending hugs to all those who are worried sick for this ferret and hoping that a solution is followed to get this little girl out of heat and then to make sure that she will not have this problem again before the ferret deteriorates too far to be helped.
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