(Following was forwarded to me to be posted anonymously.  Bill)
 
[I was going to remark that this is the best way to handle it,
but you figured it out yourself... ;-)  Vacation departure has
been delayed til tomorrow morning because I *had* to finish the
Gregory's playset.  I'm here all by myself.  Sniff.]
 
 Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 13:14 EDT
 From: <anonymous>
 Subject: ANON ferret list contribution, depressing though
 
 
Please pass this on to the ferret mailing list ANON for me.
 
I have a rather depressing tale to relate and it is a bit long,
but I think it would be a good idea to tell it so that other
neophytes will have an idea of warning signs.  We just lost one
of our young ferrets, 10 month old Pandora, apparently to the
flu.  There were none of the Distemper symptoms, just a bit of
congestion and weakness.  I'll start the story from when we just
began to wonder so others without experience can get a feeling for
the flow of the disease.
 
Last Tuesday we noticed that Pandora was a little less active than
usual during the time we let our ferrets run about the living room.
She went into the flat ferret position more often and seemed less
rambunctious than usual, although she still got into quite a lot of
mischief.  We thought that perhaps she was just having an off day as
our older adopted ferret often does.  Since we have three ferrets
sharing food and litter facilities we wouldn't have noticed any changes
in eating habits.
 
On Wednesday she was roughly the same as on Tuesday.  Both nights I
saw her in her favorite food during the big feeding but she was still
not active.  She started lying down on her own on her tummy this day
rather than curling up on her side as our ferrets usually do.  She also
was more often away from the other ferrets and not as happy to form the
pile of sleeping ferrets which usually graces their favorite sleeping
spot.
 
By Thursday evening she was noticeably weaker.  She still ran around some
with the other ferrets but she was avoiding them a bit and not wrestling
willingly with our other young ferret, Buttercup.  I want to stress to
fellow newcomers to ferrets that she still seemed comfortable and happy,
although her breathing was now shallow and quick compared to the other
ferrets--it was only really noticeable when she was beside them however.
 
By Friday morning we knew we needed to do something.  She was quite
weak and I dug out an old ferret mailing list with directions for dealing
with sick ferrets.  We put her in a separate room in a cage and put on
a humidifier feeding into her cage.  Up to this point she had only
coughed a little bit but her breathing was now clearly labored.  I fixed
her some soft food with Linatone but she only licked at it a little.  We
made an appointment with the vet and by the time I returned in the
afternoon to take her she was extremely weak.  I actually thought I was
going to lose her on the way to the vet through Boston rush-hour traffic.
 
The vet examined her and actually seemeed to know a lot about ferrets--she
was an exotic specialist which is as close as Boston gets to a ferret
specialist.  The vet felt it was the flu, not distemper, which cheered me
a lot.  She also thought she didn't look too bad, which unfortunately
had the effect of relaxing me a bit.  They gave a subcutaneous injection
to keep her from becoming dehydrated and prescribed some Benadryl for
children to help clear her lungs--she had only minor congestion in
the upper part the doctor said.  That night she ate a little bit and the
next morning she had clearly urinated in her box.
 
On Saturday things started well.  She ate some wet cat food with Linatone
and seemed a bit perkier.  However by the afternoon she had reached a new
low for weakness.  She could barely hold her head up and she only licked
a bit at her food.  We also wondered if she was drinking any water and
started trying to give her a bit with a needleless syringe.  Her breathing
came out with little pops on each breath and I foolishly hoped it was a
sign that the Benadryl was clearing her lungs.  By this evening I was
running around to pet stores trying to find Nutrical and the other
ingredients in one of the sick ferret recipes.  All I could find was
ferret vitamins so we gave her some on her favorite food that night
and left her with a steamer going.
 
Sunday morning she was still weak but the little pop had gone and I hoped
that her lungs were clearing up.  The vet had told me she would be very
weak just like anyone with the flu so I was concerned but not petrified,
unfortunately.  I gave her a bit of ice cream with vitamins which she
actually ate on her own (half of it) after I started her by putting it
on my finger and having her lick it.  I then mixed up some soaked Science
Diet, some meat baby food, and some vitamins into a soup.  I fed her with
a syringe and she was eager to eat which made me feel good, she got
through about 5 cc before refusing anymore.  A few hours later she had
urinated again in a shallow pan we put in for her and I fed her again with
the soup mix, this time she ate even more and I was getting quite hopeful
that I had found the solution to getting her strength up.  But at my
next attempt at about 6:30 she refused and I could only get a couple
cc down plus a little bit of water.  I left her with the humidifier on
and turned out the lights to encourage her to rest.  When I went back for
the 10:00 feeding she had died and was already stiff--I'm still in shock
and haven't quite accepted it yet.
 
What I really want to know is how to deal with this in ferrets.  Obviously
I should have done more, but what?  Should ferrets be force fed when they
are weak and lack the desire to eat?  Should the vets give some nutritional
supplement which we can get the ferrets to take?  I really would appreciate
it if someone knowledgable could help by summarizing do's and don't's for
ferrets.   I was afraid to force feed her but now feel that if I had started
on Friday she might have been okay.  Well that's it, sorry it is so long
but it is a form of catharsis for me I think.  Before signing off I
really want to express amazement at all the good things going on for
the ferrets of Florida and to say that it really is wonderful to hear
about it.  Also, to readers just deciding whether to get a ferret, do get
one, I say it even after losing one of ours--they are magnificent creatures.
 
                   Pandora's Dad and Mom
                   also parents of Inigo and Buttercup
 
[Our sympathies.  The most important thing to remember is that things
can happen to ferrets *very* fast.  If you suspect something *might* be
amiss, isolate the ferret and monitor both input and output.  Soaked
Science diet hard food, or diluted high quality soft (Science Diet,
C/D, Iams etc.) is a good idea if your ferret seems weak or disinterested
in food.  If either or both input or output are significantly impaired,
take the ferret to the vet as soon as you can.
 
It's easier said than done, however.  We lost one of ours that way too.]
 
[Posted in FML issue 0305]