I found Snickers on Monday morning passed out at the bottom of her cage
laying in feces and urine.  Apparently she was too weak to move after
relieving herself.  I had not fed her the normal liquid kitten replacement
formula for 2 days.  She had been on this formula 2x a day for the past
5 months.  I was trying to wean her from it and I thought she was eating
sufficient kibble and water on her own.  After finding her, I immediately
fed her duck soup and the formula and she rallied rather quickly.  Then on
Monday afternoon I took her to the vets and this is the situation now.
 
Currently Snickers is at the clinic in a nebulizer for bacterial pneumonia
with an underlying unknown problem.  Her blood test results came back
with all levels normal.  Her liver and kidney function is also normal.
However she does have elevated white blood cells - suspecting a bacterial
infection.  Her current symptoms are: weakness of hind quarters, tremors,
diarrhea, and dehydration.  On Monday while at the vets she had several
seizures after being checked.  The doc suspected it could just be from
stress.  I noticed that after each feeding she would have a seizure
(licking the lips with foamy saliva/drool).  Since Monday she has sustained
her current condition - she isn't getting worse, but she also isn't getting
better.  She has not had any seizures since Monday nite.  She is eating a
liquid diet on a regular basis (kitten replacement formula and duck soup).
No vomiting whatsoever.  The diarrhea is common since she is only on a
liquid diet.  She does move around a bit on her own =96 to go to the corner
to relieve herself, although 1 out of 5 times can she stand on her feet.
She is also responsive to touch and her name.  She can hold her head up on
her own but very weakly.
 
We have ruled out insulinoma, adrenal, and most of the common diseases
based upon the blood test.  We have also tested for distemper with the
antibodies being 1-25 (400 being conclusive, correct?).  Dr. Littlehale
says this level is suspect of a ferret that has not been recently
vaccinated which Snickers hasn't been since being purchased over 5 years
ago from a pet store.  (I am not a supporter of vaccinating, but after
this scare I did vaccinate my remaining *healthy* kids).  So the current
diagnosis is (possible) distemper - although Snickers is not showing any
*real* signs of distemper.  (Nor have any of my other ferrets or dogs
(although they have been inoculated) shown symptoms).  This result came
in yesterday and this morning Snickers wasn't doing any worse, but she
hadn't gotten any better.  She also is not exhibiting more obvious signs
of distemper.  So the next test we are going to perform is ADV.
 
Snickers is a very strong, but weak ferret.  Every time she has gotten
gravely ill she has rallied but never fully recovered to her normal weight.
She was fed a poor quality cat food during her development years (I adopted
her only 3 yrs ago) and I suspect this is why she has always been so
fragile.  But she is very strong, holding on staying alive.  Also is there
anything I can do to get the diarrhea under control and get her to keep
liquids down?  I know the diarrhea must be very uncomfortable not to
mention it is dehydrating her.  Also I had another ferret come down with
drooling and glassy stares bu Tuesday morning.  Goose has never been sick
in the 2 yrs that I've had her but I also have not vaccinated her for
distemper.  Her blood levels all came back normal with elevated white
blood cells.  She is on the same antibiotics that Snickers is on (baytril
conc 10cc+VAL+Flagyl250mg#).  We are testing her blood for distemper
those results should be back today or tomorrow.  Today Goose has rallied
completely.  No more staring or drooling.  She is active and alert.  I
currently am keeping all the ferrets separated in different cages until
we can figure out what the diagnosis is.  Do you think these illnesses
are related?
 
Unfortunately I currently do not have access to the internet or I could get
on some sites and get some information.  The vet is stumped and is grasping
at straws at what might be her problem.  If I'm lucky it's just a raging
infection causing distemper/ADV like symptoms.
 
I appreciate anyone taking their time to respond to my questions.
 
Sincerely,
 
Tanya
 
PS - We are in CA so the exposure to ferrets and related diseases is
minimal.
[Posted in FML issue 3392]