Dooks to everyone,
 
First of all, I want to send my thanks to everyone for their continued
support and emails regarding Peanut.  Though sometimes fights break out
on this list, I am amazed at how much we rally around each other when one
of our fuzzies is ill or has passed away.  Heather and I have been really
touched that so many people take time out of their days to offer us advice
and comfort.  Thank you.
 
Update on Peanut: it's been three days since the vet visit.  Peanut has
eaten between 90 and 115 cc's of food each day.  He hates his Amoxicillin,
but he is getting it down.  His poops look great!  They are surprising
solid, they do have some yellow flecks in them, but I've never heard of
that being a sign of anything.  He is still very weak.  Some days he cant
walk more than a foot or two before he has to collapse and rest.  Last
night he was heaving a little bit, but nothing came up.  He is noticeably
heavier now.  I gave him a bath Tuesday night.  He is so good during his
bath.  He stands politely in the bathroom sink and rests his chin on the
side of the sink while I wash him.  He is still doing the funky things
with his eyes (they twitch) and seems to be grinding his teeth or
"chewing the air".  The eye thing and the mouth thing always happen
together and I wonder if he's having mild seizures.
 
Many of you who have written me privately have wondered about the
possibility of an ulcer.  I called my vet on Wednesday and asked him
about this.  He told me that we would likely be seeing tarry black stools
and he would likely be vomiting bile.
 
Someone asked about insulinoma.  His glucose was slightly low, but their
glucometer runs a little low there, and I've attributed the low glucose
to him not getting enough food.  I told the vet I was seeing some
improvement; he still gives a guarded prognosis and says that we cant
rule out lymphoma or possibly ADV.  I was a little discouraged after
talking to him, but as a former vet tech student (and I interned with
him for about 6 months) I know all too well that vets dont have all the
answers (esp when it comes to ferrets).  They simply dont get enough info
on ferrets in vet school (neither do we in tech school).
 
I guess I feel like I'm getting so many mixed signals.  Sometimes he
seems to be doing well, other times I see him slipping away.  Last night
I wrapped him up in his favorite sweatshirt and held him and just cried
like a baby.  Last night he was laying on the floor and I had a little
conversation with him (also laying on the floor, nose to nose with him).
I told him if he needed to go, then I wanted him to go ahead and go.  I
told him I didnt want him to go, but I didnt want to suffer and to be in
pain either.  He layed there and listened the whole time (you know a
ferrets weak when he stays still that long).
 
So I need some advice on how you know when its time to go.  The only other
ferret we lost was Ally and she was electrocuted, so obviously it wasnt
the same situation.  I know a lot of you on the list have lost fuzzies
due to terminal illness.  If you are able, I would appreciate hearing how
you knew when it was time to let them go.  What things were happpening
that prompted you to decide that they were suffering too much?  I dont
want to euthanize him if there;s a chance, but I dont want his quality of
life to be so awful either.
 
What I find encouraging is that Peanut is very good about going potty in
certain places (in other words, he is not losing control of his bowel and
bladder).  After we feed him, he goes crazy rubbing and wiping his face
off on anything he can find.  It seems like if he was going downhill he
would just lay there with food all over his face.  He also acts very
hungry when we feed him and doesnt fight us whatsoever.  I did get him to
lap up some of the stuff on his own yesterday as well.  He just wont eat
enough on his own to make a difference.
 
My vet wants me to come back in next week to get a weight on him, he says
it wouldnt be good if by next week he weighs the same or less.  But he
feels heavier to both of us already.  As some of you suggested, I am
adding some heavy whipping cream in with his food and I think that's
helping.
 
I am also wondering if I should think about taking Peanut to another vet;
a vet that's more experienced with ferrets.  My current vet is experienced
with ferrets, but I htink I could find someone more knowledgeable.  Months
ago when Annie was lethargic and losing weight, he wasnt really sure what
was going on with her either.  I believe that he's a really good vet, but
not a lot of vets really understand ferrets.  Can someone tell me the
website you go to to find ferret vets in your area?  I am in St Pete FL
(near Tampa) if anyone knows of one.
 
Thanks for reading this.
 
Becky and Heather
The Magnificent Seven
[Posted in FML issue 3834]