Hi guys,
 
Well, after making it through Katrina, we are sort of struggling along in
North LA.  We got through evacuation from N.O., relocation and everything
only to be in trouble.
 
Background:
Two weeks ago both ferrets (Mab and Dustbin) had colds.  Dustbin's seemed
a little worse than Mab's but they both seemed to get over it pretty
well.  I pedialyted and chicken babyfooded them, and by the beginning of
last week they seemed fine again.  (Mab right now is very energetic, fat
with winter weight and has a beautiful winter coat on.)
 
Now, here's where I screwed up.  I feel terrible about this part:
I started last week and the ferrets seemed ok so I stopped feeding them
babyfood and went back to work on Monday and back to the "normal" routine
and everything.  I don't know how I didn't notice that Dustbin was losing
weight but he did, and fast!  Friday night late I went to let them out of
their cage and Dustbin was visibly much thinner and somewhat dehydrated.
We have no savings or anything, and there aren't a lot (if you aren't
already a regular patient at a certain vet) of emergency animal care
services here where we are living now, so I started pedialyte and
babyfood again.
 
He isn't as dehydrated as he was, but he is very lethargic and has
stopped eating and drinking on his own; I have to feed him.  I can only
get two tsp of babyfood gruel down him per hour or so, followed by about
a tsp of water or pedialyte.  He definitely has less energy today than he
did yesterday, or the day before.  Now all he does is sleep except when
I wake him up to eat.  He is eliminating (both kinds) but in very small
amounts and not very often at all... say, several hours go by.  He even
has started to push my hand away when I pet him because he just wants to
sleep.
 
I should have taken him in today but I kept thinking over the weekend,
and even today that I could nurse him though this -- we have no
savings -- I literally have no money.  We are paying our bills, and have
paid them for february and we have absolutely nothing in the bank.  I
don't even have anything to sell because we lost a lot of the stuff in
our apartment in N.O.  None of the vets I called will take a payment
plan; they offered to take a credit card, which I don't have, or hold a
check for two weeks.  I was reluctant to do that for fear the check would
still bounce, but now I will happily do it, and they can take me to jail
or whatever you do to people who write bad checks.  I realized I should
have taken him in because he is more lethargic rather than less, although
this morning he seemed about the same.
 
If anyone gets this who isn't on digest, please help!  I need to get him
through tonight and then tomorrow first thing I am going to take him to
the vet, no matter what.  If there is something else I can do that will
help me make sure he makes it through tonight I will try it.  He is
interested in the babyfood gruel I feed him, and even when he won't drink
water he will eat the gruel (which contains pedialyte).  I wake him every
hour or so to feed him, and he will lick the gruel off a spoon pretty
eagerly until he's had enough.
 
If anyone replies tonight, please email me privately as I am on the
digest format and may not get it if you post to the list.  Thanks so
much.  Also, if you are contemplating sending anything to me that isn't
constructive, please know that I am already suffering for my lack of
judgement and will never, never make this same mistake again.  The past
few months have been unbelievably difficult and neither my husband or I
are really thinking very clearly at all.  I know it isn't an excuse, but
it is the way things are right now.  This list has gotten me through
some very difficult things, and I am turning to y'all once again.  I
appreciate each and every one of you.
 
thanks,
christine and Mab and Dustbin
 
[Moderator's note: Sorry, I just read this at nearly 3:00 AM ET.  This
list is available ONLY as a digest, so people won't see your post until
now.  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 5160]