Hello all,
 
My ferret Elvis has some kind of intestinal bug - possibly ECE.  He
has on-again-off-again runny poops and he has become very skinny.  He
recently had an exploratory and my vet didn't find anything (except
some swollen lymph nodes), but my vet did say that his intestines were
reddish - indicating some kind of irritation.  My vet has been doing
some consulting and one very respected ferret vet he contacted said,
based on the symptoms, we should suspect ECE.
 
Anyway, I know Elvis should be eating more and the problem is he is a
very picky eater.  He likes kibble (I feed Totally Ferret mixed with
8-in-1), but turns his nose up at any other kind of healthy food.  He
hates: any canned food, baby food, NutriCal, Ferretvite and any raw or
cooked meat.  If you try to force him to eat something he will hold it
in the back of his mouth and then burp it up as soon as he can.  He WILL
eat almost any kind of sweet treat and will eat raisins, fruit loops,
fig newtons and cereal bars as fast as you can hand them to him (I don't
give him very many of these treats, he has already had surgery for
insulinoma).  I admit I haven't tried any of the Duck Soup recipes, since
they are mostly made out of things Elvis won't eat.  So my question is:
does anybody have any ideas about what I can offer Elvis to help him gain
weight and get healthy?  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
BTW - I believe that handsome "What am I?" fellow is a marten.
 
Thanks,
 
Serena and the Wrecking Crew:
Conan the Destroyer "Who, me?"
Elvis the Bear "Can I help? Can I, huh?"
Little Miss Crockett "Give me a raisin and nobody gets hurt."
Mathayus the Scorpion King "It's PLAYTIME!"
[Posted in FML issue 3902]