Lynn's post yesterday triggered an important recollection which might
help the original poster, so many thanks, Lynn!
Lasix/furosemide can dry out the lining of the nose and then ferrets
can not smell food as well. In such a situation warming the food to
about ferret body temperature (around 102'F) can add to the smell and
using stinky food like a/d heated can be even more effective.
The original poster and I already discussed the use of liquid diets and
positioning for some ferrets who wind up with the esophagus compressed
by dilative cardiomyopathy or by the size of a nearby heart tumor (or
both together as happened with one of our ferrets who also had a range
of other problems -- Ruffle was badly deformed and intellectually
challenged and at the time of her death had about 8 serious health
problems with 5 of them potentially fatal -- passing at the age of 6
years quite some time ago. She wound up on a liquid slurry diet for
something like her last half year (and near the end she began secondary
gum disease).
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/http://ferrethealth.org/archive/http://www.miamiferret.org/http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/http://www.ferretcongress.org/http://www.trifl.org/index.shtmlhttp://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump
off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall)
[Posted in FML 7348]
