Hi all -

I've tried the archives for this topic, but all the keywords I can
think of are too common and bring up tons of results (I've been sorting
through them for quite a while now), so any help is appreciated...

We have a 9 year old ferret who has started to go a bit downhill during
the past year, especially in the areas of sight, incontinence, and rear
leg weakness (all to be expected in an old lady, right?).

Although we have to clean up after her A LOT (read: all day long)
because she can no longer make it to the litter box in time, so far
she's seemed healthy and pain-free, still eating and pooping normally,
still enjoying cuddles and scratches.

But the past few days it's changed ever so slightly. Her poop until now
has been plentiful, but normally-formed. Now it's lighter-colored and
more mushy. It looks pretty much like what goes in - wet cat food. And
she wants to eat all the time. It seems she can no longer regulate her
hunger, because she doesn't stop until it's gone, whereas before she
would only eat until she was no longer hungry.She attacks the food in
a new way too, like she's starving, without pausing or chewing. My
instincts tell me that she's not getting nutrients from her food
anymore and that she's somehow starving even though she's ingesting
food - is that possible?

The problem is that where I live in Germany, the nearest
ferret-knowledgeable doc is quite far away. So I was hoping that
someone might have suggestions that I can give to the local doc for
what to check for. Worms? Stomach tumor?

I do worry that she's already so fragile from her old age that I'd hate
to traumatize her with too many of the wrong blood tests, etc. It will
be very hard on her and I don't want to overdo it. What should we check
first?

Please email me rather than responding on list, if you have any ideas?
[Or better yet, respond to both! BIG]

Thanks in advance!!!

Emily and Roxie

[Posted in FML 6654]