This is a difficult letter to write, without breaking down.
 
I have a 10-week old baby I've raised with hours of love and tender care.
He fell ill last Friday, one week ago.  Last Friday was the last time he
walked.
 
First he slept more than usual.  By Sunday he was quite lethargic, and was
having some loose fluffy, seedy stools, but eating well.  On Sunday, we took
his temperature, which was 94!  (Another thermometer said 86, so I thought
the thermometer was broken, as it read 76 another time!) I had the stomach
flue Friday and Saturday, so suspected he'd caught it and didn't worry a lot
until Sunday.  Sunday night my partner palpated Squeek gently in the
abodominal area and felt two lumps, a larger one above a smaller one.  We
began thinking obstruction.  I stayed up with him all night, on and off.
 
First thing Monday morning we went to the vet.  He asked about Squeek's
history.  I told him that his balance has always been a little off, but he
had been getting around the house, playing, and even running, though he fell
sometimes, especially when turning, and he usually fell to the left - it
seemed his hind legs weren't strong, so we were doing some physical therapy.
X-rays (two unclear; the vet said he thought cloudiness and lack of
demarkation in the abdominal area was due to some fluid from possible
peritonitis) and blood tests, a urinalysis and fecal - all were run that
day.  I went to visit Squeek in the afternoon and he ate a good moist meal,
as usual.  He'd received fluids, but was very run down, just lying there,
but showing very poor coordination (ataxia), and head tilting (which he'd
always done just a tad of too).
 
Squeek came from a tragic litter of neural tube babies.  Two of the babies
were born dead with the brain crest exposed (covered with a cap of blood,
which mother Claudette licked off).  One died 24 hours later despite
desperate attempts to feed him.  He had a cleft palate.  The babies are
frozen as a vet and I do some research into possible Vitamin A toxicity to
the fetuses.  (If anyone wants more info or has info on this, please e-mail
me).  Claudette was bred to a hob with a lineage of no history of neural
tube problems.  Mom had previously had a healthy litter of nine (before she
came to me).  She came with her baby, Minnie, who is two and has a 3/6 heart
murmur.
 
The vet's prognosis was that he thought the lumps were Squeek's kidney and
bladder, though he couldn't confirm with the x-rays he'd taken.  He couldn't
feel or see in the x-ray a kidney on the right side, and said the left
kidney appeared enlarged.  The red cell count was 29% rather than 42% (as he
put it), with some red cells clumped together (so this is in normal range,
according to the second vet who saw Squeek later).  Liver enzymes were a bit
low.  White cell count was 3,000 (normal on Dr. Kawasaki's scale of
2,800-8,000 (I think these are the correct figures Dr. Kawasaki uses, though
don't have notes near); though a second test and average would be better).
My vet used the lab scale norm of 4-18,000, however, and determined the
white count "extremely low", especially for a kit.  So, due to the
imbalance, though no other symptoms except lethargy, he tested for
distemper, though the whole lot of our other eight are up-to-date in
vaccines.  Squeek tested negative.
 
So, the vet suggested possible septic meningitis (treatable by
chlorophenical), or congenital cerebellum hypoplasia (brain not developing
at the rate of the body; untreatable he said).  He prescribed .25 ml 2x/day
of chlorophenical.  That night we panicked that the lumps were a blockage -
large lumps, one over the other, the the big one moved from left to center
it seemed; they felt sort of connected.  The next morning we rushed him up
to my old vet (about 45 minutes away) who turns out to be wonderfully
knowledgable about ferrets.  (He also runs a wildlife shelter at three
sites; the sick animals are admitted at his site for treatment!)
 
He took a crystal clear x-ray, said there was definitely no blockage (some
mucous in the bowels, but no fluid in the abdominal cavity), that there were
indeed two kidneys, though one is shrunken and the other as large or larger
than an adult ferrets!  He said this was definitely a genetic defect.  He
also showed us how to gently palpate the bladder to release urine, as he
thought Squeek wasn't urinating all his urine.  (At the time I was over
hydrating him, I found, and since this time he seems to be expelling
completely).  Since the five or six years I've seen this vet, he's gotten
into herbal treatments, so he really gave us the business.  He prescribed
continued chlorophenical at .25/2x day for two weeks.  And two weeks of
prednisone at 12-13 units/2x day.  Then 1/8 tablet (a fraction) of Ginko
herb (to increase blood flow to the brain) 1x/day, 1/4 inch ribbon of
felovite 2x/day, 1/4 tablet Matola enzyme prior to meals.  He called
yesterday afternoon and said to increase the prednisone to 50 ml 2x/day,
then call him after two doses to report how Squeek is doing.
 
My beautiful little Squeek (a silvery blaze with the most beautiful face
I've ever seen), began to crawl a little on Tuesday.  He crawls a little,
then rolls around now, mostly, with little balance.  It's Friday.  But his
energy level is very low, he can't stand, and he doesn't play.  I know he
knows me because he crawls to me and puts his head on my leg, so that I'll
pick him up and cuddle him.  He cuddles with his mom, and licked her face
yesterday.  He's showed some interest in the new, quilted sleeping bag I
made him (scratching in the corners) and crawling around the edges.  He
tried to bite at his favorite squeek toy last night.  Every once in awhile
he squeeks.  But, he isn't very coordinated or energetic, and stares off a
lot.  Every so often I can get him to give me a kiss.  I miss his bouncy
personality so very much, though I'm deeply thankful he didn't die when he
was so very low.
 
My heart is breaking.
 
I hope someone can help us.  The second vet showed us how to do walking and
running physical therapy with Squeek.  Squeek tracks with his feet okay, and
if you move him faster appears to gallop, so we're working on this slowly,
since he went through so much this week.  The vet, who is thinking
neurological problems, mentioned donating him to the vet school at
Washington State University, but I could never let him live in a lab.  The
vet said a cat scan could be used to diagnose him, so if someone wanted to
perform these tests for research on an outpatient basis, I would welcome
this opportunity if it wasn't too hard on Squeek.
 
Except that I am planning on his recovery and picturing him prancing around
with his little squeaky hamburger and purple squeaky angel dragon.  On the
night we thought he was dying (Monday) we gathered around him to say goodbye
and brought his mother to him.  Claudette buried her head in Janos' leg and
began scratching and crying for some time, then she curled into a ball,
whimpered, then lay silent.  Another friend with ferrets, who I'd just been
speaking with on the phone, asked for the first thing she'd ever asked for
from the powers that be - to let us keep this baby.
 
He didn't die.  But now I want him back all the way.  He used to cry out
when he saw me, then come running to me.  He talked a lot and loved to play
and be tickled in my lap more than anything.  He is the sweetest ferret I've
ever met.
 
It seemed he was more present mentally prior to the prednisone
administrations.  Would there be any reason for this?  Additionally, could
Squeek have had a stroke?
 
Please help us with your prayers.  Any information at all will be greatly
appreciated.  Thank you so very much for your time.  I'll be offline until
Monday, but can be reached at 206-938-8183.
 
With teary eyes and a heavy heart,
 
Lynn Mc.
[Posted in FML issue 1558]