Time to pick some brains, please.

Acquired Wacky Wonda Wonka; a Triple F ferret from a horrible pet shop
that was keeping her AND her sister in a 5 gallon fish tank! Think I
recall the store clerk mentioning they'd been there for a couple
months. She was a biter (go figure) so they were wanting to "make a
deal". Long story short I bought her that day and my friend bought her
sister the next day and I brought Whoopi home to be with her sister.
Both ferrets had clods of poop stuck to their feet and matted in their
fur. Wanda was considerably heavier and stockier than her sister. Her
biting quickly subsided when she realized she could roam free through
many rooms for most of the day and night!

Anyway, she had two peculiarities health wise. A persistent cough and
a stilted gait behind. I figured the gait thing was from being housed
on a slick glass floor and as she developed strength her gait would
improve. A vet check indicated some tenderness of her near hind -(sorry
horse terms) left hind knee and a reluctance to stretch the limb. I've
done a fair amount of massage and physical therapy with her since then
and she seems to have improved immensely in that area.

The cough we approached with antibiotics and observance, but it
persisted and seemed to get worse as her activity level increased. When
tusseling with other ferrets or getting trounced by the boys she would
get visibly upset and seem to have difficulty breathing! Radiographs
revealed a slightly larger than normal fat pad located dorsally under
her heart, but vet didn't feel that was the reason for her cough.

I pointed out a white spot in the back of her throat and expressed
concern. Another round of antibiotics and still no change. The next
trip to the vet they put her under and examined the white spot. The
vet called it an abscess - but didn't offer much as to its cause. The
possibility could be from something she chewed and it poked her throat.
Vet swabbed the exudate within the abscess and sent it to a lab; the
results came back as one of the streptococcus bugs which meant yet
another DIFFERENT round of antibiotics! All through out this Wanda
remained a voracious eater. Abstaining from kibble and chowing down
on natural foods.

Wanda improved, although she hated me for dosing her. Wanda has
always been a very solid bulky ferret. Her sister trimmed down as she
lengthened out, but Wanda's development has been a bit slower. She's
getting a bit longer but has remained very solid - until now.


Now the cough has returned, as has the white spot in the same location
in her throat. This time she has gone completely off her feed, and in
mere days has dropped about half her body weight! I am syringe feeding
her every hour a puree of her raw (minus any bones), as well as some
cooked soup and water. She refuses to eat on her own and her activity
level is zero. The feedings and drenching have re-hydrated her and
tonight she tottered around the kitchen a bit. I've also started her
back on the doxycycline.

I'll be calling the vet tomorrow to see if I should do anything else
for the time being. I'm on the fence about taking her to the vet as I
worry that the added stress of the office environment will set her back
more. For now she has her on section of a FN cage, so no body can pick
on her.

She is still urinating and her deposits have some form to them albeit
since everything going in is liquidized - there isn't much mass to the
deposit. The color has gone from pale soup color in a puddle to now a
brown color with some form. So there is some improvement.

Her gums are bubble gum pink and moist. Although I feel she is mildly
dehydrated as her skin doesn't snap back like the other ferrets' do.
She isn't feverish.

Any ideas? Anyone with something similar?

Thanks!
Cheers,
Kim

please visit :
for ferret help and info:
http://holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi
http://ferretopia.proboards51.com/index.cgi
yahoo groups Natural Ferrets

[Posted in FML 6981]