I may as well add to the kbytes since the FML seems to be on a roll.  I have
quite a few things to blather about this time:
 
1) In issue 443, Chere says:
 
>Dear Chris,   See you have many new subscriber's.  This is probably in
>part to Bill Gruber.
 
Probably due more to Nancy Hartman on usenet, but I admit I haven't
read rec.pets for a long while.
 
>a cut little sheet displaying a ferret and how to get on
>various list electronically - ... and as you guessed it all those
>handouts went within 2 days.
 
I have since made many revisions to the sheet.  Nothing too major, but
enough that I'd rather not distribute the old ones anymore.  Will contact
Chere offline to work out getting new ones to her.  Any other folks/clubs
wanting one, let me know, though I suspect once they circulate I will get
some feedback which will lead to a revision number 2.
 
2) Our tyrannical dictator-moderator says:
 
>.... On the other hand, to send this, I have to send out
>almost 60 copies at 40K apiece.  It's about $4.  This
>is the biggest article I've ever sent...
 
If each of us drops a couple of dollars in an envelope and sends it to
you, that would keep you online for a while longer, no?  (I mean real
United States dollars not those devalued Canadian imitations).   Even
if 100 of us can do this, that'll be many more months.  Are you
soliciting?
 
3) Meanwhile, back at the Katie Fritz ranch:
> ...  For instance, are there any problems with Clavamox and ferrets?
 
Just about every ferret I know has been on Clavamox.  Slink's been on
it continuously for close to a year now!  The clavulanic acid in it
keeps the amoxicillian from being destroyed by a particular type of
bacteria before it can do its job.  The only side-effect that I've
heard of is general weakness, but like most antibiotics, gastric
disturbances are also possible.
 
>... Molly HATES the banana-flovored Clavamox -- we have to mix
>it with Nutrical (what would we do without it??) before she'll take it.
 
I put Nutrical on the syringe tip and let Slink lick it off.  After she
licks about half of it off, I squirt the stuff down her mouth, then let
her finish licking off the rest of the Nutrical.  I usually follow it with
a treat of some sort.  Like Molly, Slink doesn't like the Clavamox, but
since it also means Nutrical and a treat, she sometimes seems to actually
look forward to medicine time!
 
>Also, Bandit had what may be his last chemo shot this weekend..
 
Wow, that's great!  Chalk up another one in the winner's column!
It really sounds like it has been a long few months for you.  I'm so
glad to hear all the news from you and will keep my paws crossed hoping
that the upcoming news is all GOOD.
 
4) Re: Sustical, KMR, "Duck Soup" and the like...
 
When Slink was being treated for her cut esophagus she had to be fed a
liquid diet via a stomach tube for quite a while.  Naturally, the
question of what to feed her came up.  Here are lots of little things
that I found out:
 
Assuming you have to go with a totally liquid diet (as in the case of
a feeding tube), there is very little out there that even comes close
to meeting the nutritional and caloric requirements of a ferret.  The
best seems to be a product called Isocal HCN, also by Mead Johnson.
The HCN stands for High Calorie and Nitrogen.  Indeed, Isocal HCN has
twice the calories of regular Isocal or Sustical.  (HCN has 2 Kcal/gm).
 
Caloric value is very important with ferrets.  Your typical 1.5 pound
ferret requires in the neighborhood of 75 Kcal daily.  More if the
ferret is recovering from illness.  So, to get, let's say, 100 Calories
with Sustical, you're talking about almost 4 ounces of the stuff a day!
That's not too realistic, though I suppose it is possbile. (It would be
easier if your ferret wasn't sick to begin with :-))   2 ounces of Isocal
HCN is a LOT more do-able, but you're still talking many feedings a day
(I fed Slink every 3 hours or so, around the clock, each time filling
her (7 cc) stomach and she was just getting the 100 Kcal she needed).
 
Close to Isocal was a "duck soup" of the Animal Medical Center.  I had
to use that once when they were all out of HCN.  Their duck soup was
basically Isocal HCN, Kitten Milk Replacement and some extra vitmains
and oils thrown in.  Came to 1.75 Kcal/gm.
 
Straight Kitten Milk Replacement is still better than Sustical.  KMR
comes in at 1.5 Kcal/gm and has much less sugar.
 
Personally, I think the HCN stuff tastes pretty horrid, but once Slink
was allowed to have liquids by mouth again, she actually loved the stuff.
What goofy critters.
 
Now, if you can get away with something more solid, things get a lot
easier.  It's easier to get proper nutritional makeup in a denser food.
It might be fun to calculate the caloric value of the posted duck soup
recipe one day, but it might come pretty close if the KMR is added in.
 
Needless to say, if you have a sick ferret and all you can get it to
eat is Sustical or other similar products, be glad it's eating SOMETHING
and take it from there.  For some ferrets, I suspect Sustical is a lot
more palatable than other stuff, so that's in important factor.
 
5) Someone mentioned ferret gifs.  How large are they?  Perhaps I could put
a few of the better ones on the file server?  (You can ask the server to send
you stuff in XXEncode or MIME or whatever, so by-mail requests would still
work ok).
 
Bill
 
[Posted in FML issue 0445]