To Pyrophage, who wants to know when to put ferrets to sleep -
 
        Pain is a difficult thing to gauge in a ferret.  Ferrets with chronic
abdominal pain will grind their teeth, but other than that, they are pretty
stoic little critters.
 
        Food and water intake is a good measurement.  Animals who are ready to
go often stop taking in nutrition.  With some animals, force feeding may bring
them back, but in mine, which I knew had terminal, progressive disease, we just
said our goodbyes and put them to sleep.
 
        Eating and sleeping is common in older ferrets - My oldest one does
mostly that, but she does get up and explore for about a half hour a day.  She's
happy with that, and so are we.
 
        Putting an animal to sleep is not an easy decision, so we give them all
the breaks we can.  You'll know when it's time.
 
 
Bruce Williams, DVM
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[Posted in FML issue 0787]