Dear Dr. Williams:
 
On Thursday, February 23rd our 2 1/2 year old female Ferret Ginger became
listless and barely had bowel movements.  On Friday morning she vomited and
was very weak and not herself.  That afternoon she couldn't keep any food
down and was taken to her Vet.  Her Vet discovered Ginger had stomach pain
when examined and took an x-ray to check for an obstruction.  The x-ray
showed no blockage, but her stomach and intestinal track were swollen and
inflamed.  She stayed at the vet and was put on an IV .  After this she did
not vomit again, but she was quite dehydrated.  Her blood test showed that
her blood sugar had dropped and discovered her liver level was low as well.
 
On Saturday, February 25th the Vet said she had pepped-up and looked better,
she was re-hydrated and had not vomited.  She was able to eat, drink and
pass some stool.  We became optimistic. The low blood sugar level and liver
level was attributed to the dehydration. Ginger's stomach was less painful
to her on Saturday and she seemed more comfortable.  Sunday she barely ate
and had to be force fed NutriCal and the IV was continued.
 
Monday afternoon she passed some blood with her stool, ate very little
kibble and was continued on the NutriCal and the IV.  Our Vet said a biopsy
to find the absolute cause was not possible because of her weakened state.
 
 She had gotten to a certain point and was not getting any better. Tuesday
the 28th Ginger's stool was very very dark, at this point the Vet was trying
to get a sonogram arranged, unfortunately, Ginger began to hemarige,
becoming unconsious, labored breathing  and showing signs of pain when she
bled.  We had to put her to sleep.
 
Ginger had vomited two other times in the past. Once a year ago and she had
a temperature - the Vet believed she caught our flu virus.  She took some
antibiotics and was fine.  And the second time on December 23rd - she didn't
have a fever and bounced back right away.
 
We'd appreciate your help in determining what caused her death.  Can we send
you her medical records or anything else you can suggest to assist you.  We
haven't had the Vet do anything with her remains just yet. Please let us
know as soon as possible if you can help us.  Thank you.
 
Augie and Arleen
 (212) 768-3900 - work
 (718) 458-0710 - Home
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[Posted in FML issue 1121]