Nancy, Okay, first off, don't panic. Bree is NOT showing any of the worst
signs. What she is displaying are generalized ones so what may be going on
could be just about anything. The vet probably wanted to prepare you for the
worst just in case because cancers are not uncommon. Is her hair just thinning
or do entire clumps come out with a moderate restraint? How old is Bree now?
Fritter started with a big spleen and with grand mal convulsions (in insulinoma
you give sugars to stop these -- with regular fruit feedings, regular Nutrical
or a "soup" of Nutrical and water, rubbing sweets which are easily dissolved
inside the mouth (use Nutrical, Karo Syrup, Honey, etc.), and in the worst cases
with regular subcutaneous injections of very mild (to avoid tissue damage)
dextrose solutions.) and a big spleen which suddenly went up, later she got the
big nodes common with lympho (which she also had).
Re: force feedings: There are many techniques. If the ferret's hydration
drops too much that can also cause the animal to refuse food and to not drink
enough. Subcutaneous injections of Ringer's Solution can often jump start them
if this is the case. We used a mush rich in SATURATED fats (some studies sited
by Fox in his book indicate that their bodies probably do not well tolerate
mono-unsaturates, and that the data still were not in on poly-unsaturates, but
they NEED the saturated fats. Depending on the ferret's personal tolerances
these mushes contained some combination of: water, dried food, NUTRICAL, EGG
YOLKS (not the whites) which had been hard boiled, Esbilac, butter, and thick
rice water if the animal was too loose. The yolks and Nutrical are especially
important for concentrated nutrients and calories. Our ferrets with cancer
(insulinoma and lympho in one, and adenocarcinoma of the adrenal in the other)
both stayed at normal weights with this. (We also know that chicken soup
concentrate which is not diluted is recommended in such mushes for cats because
of the high levels of minerals, but don't know anyone who has used it for
ferrets.) If the ferret has runs with the illness stress saturated fats like
butter or melted beef tallow or the yellow fat you skim off when you boil a hen
because fats slow digestion, and make a heavy rice water by boiling rice for a
long time in much water, and be sure to have Nutrical and boiled egg yolks.
We have had to actually force food sometimes with these illnesses, but often
once the ferret had swallowed some she or he would begin the lap up the rest.
The pipet sounds great. We also go the wrapped towel route (such a mess) and
put the dropper in from the side while holding the muzzle enough that it can be
closed before the food is spit out. Sometimes stroking the front of the throat
will encourage swallowing. Refusals of food during severe illness which were
treated with an idea toward the possibility of dehydration and with such
feedings (usually trying to get enough in to partially distend the tummy a bit),
and often accompanied within 5 hours by many offers (or droppers) of Nutrical in
water always would get the critters eating on their own again in minutes to 3
days. The only time we saw longer it became obvious that the critter's time had
come.
Re: cages: Have never heard this one before, nor have I seen any evidence in
this regard, either in postings, readings, chats, or personal experience (10
ferrets over 10 years). Nor are ferrets "like" cats. Yes, both are in
Carnivora, but they are no more like cats than you are like a Presbytis monkey.
(Take it from a woman who curated taxonomic materials for a number of years.)
Ferrets are denning animals which break long rests (fewer and shorter usually in
kits, though kits fall asleep on a dime, including in food -- which doesn't
waken them, or water -- which does) with periods of truly intense activity. The
cage is a natural den, but should have areas to hide away (such as towels, old
sweat shirts, and satiny old night gowns -- unless the ferret is a cloth eater
in danger of blockage -- then put in a box), and be large enough to exercise to
a reasonable degree. One of our's has 3 stories and we have added hammocks and
a reshaped (with scissors) gallon apple cider jug for extra play areas. The one
in which our handicapped (acrondoplasic dwarfism with separate retardation)
ferret lives has hammocks, hung boxes, and hung plastic jugs at easy stepping
height to protect her back an extra lot. (She has to live separately because
she can not get along with the others.) The various ferrets vet specialists I
know and have known seem to all account for the decrease in ferret life spans
and the increases in certain cancers by referring to the extreme amount of
inbreeding which closed colonies created when they tried to keep up with
demands. (New Zealand has had increases in other problems according to Fox, and
very likely from same cause.) WE NEED INTERNATIONAL SPERM EXCHANGES ON A LARGE
SCALE. For the hours when the ferrets are out of the cage be sure that you have
ferret proofed areas (child locks on cabinets they can open, covered sockets, no
holes into walls, closed toilet lids, and many etceteras).
Re: tickling: yes, ferrets do have ticklish spots, but as with humans one MUST
let the ferret make the decision when the game is up. A breathy heh-heh-heh is
laughter, but a chatter indicates panic. As one who had a cousin who believed
on pinning tickling victims down by kneeling on their hair I can tell you that
the human diaphram can become incredibly sore and breathing difficult, which
leads to panic. Most of our's have loved tickle games, but THEY set the limits,
not us.
Quyen Le, It is not good logic to teach ANY animal to be fierce. Doing so
places the animal in great (or greater) danger, and could get you sued.
Teaching an animal to be fierce is a form of animal abuse and could place
ferrets in the same position as the category called "pit bulls" which are often
mistreated into being nasty.
If you are worried about your father taking the animal away, you should contact
Nancy Hartman through this net to learn about local societies, vets, and animal
shelters which are friendly to ferrets.
I am glad that you have not yet tried to teach your ferret such misbehavior.
Please, recognize that it would not be fair to the animal. I realize that you
are young, and afraid for your pet, but that would not be the answer.
[I'd also like to add that it's entirely unnecessary to teach your ferret
to be "fierce". As long as it's healthy and fit, a gentle ferret can
defend itself just fine. If you teach your ferret to be fierce, it will
attack people and other animals - if it does that, it can be taken away
and destroyed. Ferrets get along (play) well with many animals. Ferrets
also have an undeserved reputation in the media and with many people
of being "dangerous". Please don't make it "true" - you would be doing
a disservice to all of us. Chris.]
Waardenburg's syndrome is the genetic problem which can cause a white forelock,
widely spaced eyes, and other characteristics, and which can cause anywhere from
no hearing difficulty to profound deafness. Our 'Chopper (Little Helicopter)
has it and has the forlock, some white toes (which may or may not be related),
and is deaf to high frequencies. We naturally lower our voices with her. The
genetic syndrome occurs is a wide range of mammals including humans, cats,
horses, mink, mice and many others. Sorry to hear about BB's increasing
deafness, Bill, but VERY happy about how well Slink is doing!
Re: the wolverine article: Did you notice that the ones in the piece have
never bitten?
We tried to get the licence plate "weasel" or "weasels" but someone else has
them, resulting in a number of people making cracks about some unknown
individuals in a profession recently compared to sharks in many jokes. We
really wanted it, too. Oh, well.
[We tried for "ferret", but it already had been taken. So we settled
for "FERET 1" and "FERET 2" ;-)]
Our best to all.
Sukie (writing), Steve (posting), and the true authors: Meltdown, Ruffle,
"Chopper, Spot, Meeteetse, and memories of Tandy, Haleakala, Helix, Fritter, and
Hjalmar
[Posted in FML issue 0435]
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