Good ol' Kyle gave my fiance & me one heck of a scare last night.
 
Two nights ago, when I let the ferrets out to play for the evening, Kyle
didn't come out of the cage for long.  I checked on him, gave him some
FerretVite, and figured he was just tired and didn't feel like coming out
to play.  Each of the ferrets does this once in a while.
 
Then last night, after the ferrets had been out for about 2 hours, I went
in to water/feed/scoop.  I walked across the room to the cage, stepping
over a sweatshirt on the floor, got the water bottles, walked back out of
the room, walked back in, started scooping, etc.  When I turned around
again, I noticed Kyle sticking his head out of the sweatshirt.  I called
out to him (he usually comes to his name), but he didn't move.  So I went
over and picked him up.  He was completely limp, but awake.  I tried to
tickle his back legs and make them stretch out, but it didn't work.  Plus
his belly felt all soft and squishy (Kyle is our resident fat man at 4+
pounds and his belly is usually firm).
 
So I put Kyle on the floor.  He immediately collapsed completely flat.  I
prodded him to get him up, and when he started walking, he seemed to be
having motor problems.  He was staggering and half-dragging his hind legs.
This is when I began to get really upset.  Images of both Sandy and Gizmo
staggering and sluggish before they died passed through my brain.
 
I started to massage Kyle's hindquarters, gave him FerretVite, and blew
raspberries on his tummy.  He started to perk up a bit and walk a little
more.  Then all he wanted to do was curl up in my arms.  So I put him in
the cage, in a fuzzy hammock.  I checked on him an hour later, and he
seemed better.  I checked on him a couple more times during the night,
and he seemed fine.
 
When I got up this morning, everything seemed back to normal.  His tummy is
firm again, his legs responded to the tickling, and he followed me around
the room looking for FerretVite.  I stayed with him for 1/2 hour, making
sure that he was really perky and his normal self.
 
If you're wondering why I didn't rush him to the emergency vet, I have good
reason.  The so-called ferret-knowledgable vet, the one that prolonged
Sandy's death in September and tried to soak me for as much money as
possible, was the only one on duty last night.  So Kyle has an appointment
for this afternoon, just to make sure things are OK.
 
=====
Aileen & the Herd
The Ferrets: Slinky, Kyle, Noel, & Toby
The Dogs: Rootie the beagle & Tank the GSD/basset
Still missing Sandy & Gizmo. We love you.
 
Check out the Herd's website at: http://www.geocities.com/anippy
[Posted in FML issue 3331]