Hello, everyone.  My ferret princess, Xena, has me stumped and I need
some suggestions.  She's 7 years old, and in May 2003 she had major
surgery -- she had both adrenals removed along with her spleen, part of
her pancreas, and a piece of intestine (it was twisted and Dr. Weiss was
concerned about that).
 
Her recovery was long and painful, but she is pretty normal now, except
for 1 thing -- she refuses to eat any hard food.  Since her surgery, she
has eaten Bob C.'s chicken gravy, and only that.  I've always left her
Totally Ferret out for her, but except for a piece or two now and then,
she doesn't eat it.  And in the last couple of months, she's stopped
eating it completely.  I've tried mixing the kibble into her chicken
gravy, but she just licks the gravy off and ignores the kibble.
 
Why is this an issue now?  After 8 symptom-free months, she is starting
to show signs of insulinoma, and she needs to eat more often.  I've been
feeding her chicken gravy when I'm home -- in the morning before I go to
work, in the evening when I come home, and at night before I go to bed.
That has worked well until now.  But now I need to get her to eat without
me being there to warm up gravy for her.
 
I've thought about trying to come home at lunch to feed her, but my boss
won't go for that.  He told me I should have her put to sleep.  Argh...
 
Any ideas?  Can I leave a bowl of gravy out for her, or would that be too
dangerous since it is chicken?  Does anyone know of a way to gently
reintroduce her to kibble?
 
Please reply by e-mail to [log in to unmask] .  I just re-subscribed
to the FML after a brief absence and I'm not sure when I'll receive my
first issue.
 
Thanks in advance, and hugs to all the ferrets!
 
Jennifer and Xena
[Posted in FML issue 4388]