Hey and dooks and higs to all the furkids.
 
Now, everyone repeat after me ...PYRETHRINS
 
Okay, now say it again a little louder.  Ummm, well, it was alright I
guess.  Except for the guy in that back with the funny accent.
 
PYRETHRINS are a big 'no-no'.  It's a chemical used to kill insects such
as roaches, fleas, ticks, etc.  It is extremely harmful to animals.  It
is a poison.  Can we say "poison"?  I knew you could.
 
Poisons can enter the bodies through different routes.  INHALATION -
breathing it, INGESTION - swallowing it, ABSORPTION - seeps in through your
skin or mucous membranes <eyes, nose>, INJECTION - entering via a puncture
or open wound.
 
The reason I bring this up.  It is now on my list of possible suspects
that may have lead to mu fuzzies illnesses.  My former roomate and I
were discussing pest control treatments in some units.  He indicated he
"bombed-the-sh*t" out of his apartment a few weeks ago.  He mentioned
that a can of fogger was placed in EACH room, the room sealed.  One can
normally covers 5,000 sq feet.  <FREAK !!!!!!>
 
Now, one of the rooms bombed had contained, you guessed it, my extra cage
and ferret supplies including tubes.  The laundry room was also fogged.
Ergo, this means that the spare cage, tubing, and laundry detergent was
contaminated.  This would be the same cage I placed Zeus in, the same tubes
I gave the kids to play with, and the detergent I washed their blankies
with.  Can we see a recipe for disaster forming here?  I thought so.  Since
I had no reason to believe any pesticides or insecticides had been used,
I did not THOROUGHLY wash the tubes or cage <they were rinsed however>.
Since my sense of smell stinks <pardon the pun> I would not have noticed
it.
 
Zeus was small and would have been inhaling fumes from the plastic cage
trays.  Add to that licking of any spilled water and residual.  Rascal and
Socks were large boys.  Their bodies filled the inside of the tubes.  They
would have been rolling around in it.  They could have absorbed a quantity
through their skin.  With residual on the fur, the others would have come
in contact with it.
 
I'm not saying it is the cause, but sure is one hell a good candidate.
Since I had no idea what caused the deaths, I had already removed a lot of
stuff from the room and washed it thoroughly several times.  I am expecting
a phone call from my vet tomorrow.  If anyone knows of a site that may tell
me the affects of this chemical on small animals, please direct me !!!!!!
 
Kevin B and the Way Kewl Critter Crew
~Furrice~Simon~Lacey~Hershey~Sprite~Cuddles~Java~Miss Priss~
~Cinna~Racer~Muttley~Dookesbury~
Guardian Fur-Angels -  ~Lady~Zeus~Rascal~Socks~
Missing our friends - Kimo the Sumo Cat (and Honorary Fert) and fellow
ferts ~Petey~, ~Nibbler~, ~Max~, ~Romeo~, ~Bandit~, and the other ~Romeo~
Saying "Hey!" to ~Pandora~, ~Noser~ and the rest of the Tennessee Brat
Pack !!
Please see     KITY=^..^=KAT's Fur Faces, Memorial for Zeus
                    http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/2396/zeus.html
 
Prayers to the ill and those who have gone before us.  Hug your fuzzies
while you can, hold them in your heart when you can't.
[Posted in FML issue 2904]