From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2011-11-30 20:21:50 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Hiding pain ( was Re: need advice on adrenal desease)
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi, everyone,
On 11/30/11, Jeff <inner.harmony@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> To say that she doesn't seem
> to be in pain is no justification for not getting the vet attention that she
> needs. Ferrets are notoriously stoic when it comes to "hiding pain"... it's
> their instinct to do so.
I can't stress how important what Jeff wrote here is. My Zephyr, who
is eight and a half years old, has a heart condition that will kill
her eventually. I had family over and my mother, who is not a pet
person at all, commented on how good Zephyr looked.
To someone who doesn't know Zephyr that comment made sense. She has a
beautiful new winter coat now, she's put on weight for winter
normally, and she was wandering around and exploring that night. I,
OTOH, knew Zephyr was having a terrible night by the way she was
acting. She was very slow and didn't want attention from anyone, not
from Chin Soon (her cage mate) or from me. There were new people in
the room and she was ignoring them. That's not Zephyr at all, even
now. She wasn't feeling well. However, to an untrained eye she
looked perfectly normal.
I'd bet that there are days when Zephyr seems to be doing really well
to me that she still doesn't feel as good as I'd hope for. The
difference is that she is getting medication and when and if she
starts going downhill again she will definitely see a vet.
There is no substitute for good vet care. Once you take a pet into
your home you take responsibility for that life. There is no excuse,
none at all, for not providing basic medical care. I've borrowed at
times, I've gone without at times, but I've made sure that I live up
to the responsibilities to those in my care. If I really, truly
couldn't do that anymore then I would have no choice but to surrender
my ferrets to someone who could.
-Caitlyn
with Zephyr and Chin Soon
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