We have an 18 month-old ferret in the shelter.  Refuses to eat.  We've been
force feeding him for over 5 weeks now.  No blockages visable in the X-Rays
including a recent barium trace.  Our vet said that the digestive tract was
open all of the way - not even a slowdown.  Bloodwork all came back normal.
 No obvious bumps or lumps.  No obvious sore throat.
 
We've been getting Duck Soup down him with a syringe on a 3-5 times a day
feeding routine.  We've tried to cut back to twice a day to see if he'd get
hungry enough to eat, but no luck.  The guy would rather starve.  We've tried
about 7-9 different kinds of cat/kitten/dog food.  He will drink kitten
weaning formula (a little) but not if it's mixed with food.  He will drink
ferretone, but not put on food.  I can crush up kitten food and get it in his
mouth little bits at a time and he will chew and swollow.
 
He came into the shelter from a couple who had gotten him from another
family.  They had a Zodiak flea collar on him.  After a couple of weeks they
noticed he wasn't eating.  We offer to try.  So far, no luck.
 
Vet says the only other option he can think of is exploritory surgery.  He
and I really don't want to do that except as a last resort.
 
Ideas/suggestions?
 
Dick B.
[Posted in FML issue 1159]