I am having a concern, and maybe some of you who had similar experiences
- and hopefully one of the vets - could give me some advice.
After my two ferrets had diarrhea for a week, and it didn't seem to get
any better, I called my vet and asked for his help. He asked me for some
stool samples and after checking them, he said that he could not find any
of the bacteria he can check for in his clinic, but that he was pretty
sure that it might be salmonella poisoning. To confirm that, he had to send
the samples in. I do trust him on that. He has always been great with ALL
of our animals, including the ferrets, and so far he has always been
right on the money with any of his assumptions. So for now both of my
Babies are on Antibiotics, which the vet gave to us. I am stunned! I can
not explain to myself how in the world they could have gotten salmonella
poisoning. My husband and I right away checked the whole house for pieces
of food the two little thiefs might have stolen and stashed away. We
looked under every piece of furniture and in every corner. Even though we
found nothing, I was not surprised. We keep food only in the kitchen,
which is the only room in which the ferrets are not allowed. It is always
closed up when they are running around. So what happened? Could it maybe
be their regular dry cat food? Could that bag have gotten spoiled? And if
yes, how can I avoid this in the future? Every time I look at my ferrets,
especially Fender - his energy level is almost gone, and he's lost weight
- I feel guilty. I hope that the medication will help them soon. But what
could have went wrong?  Thanks for any suggestions!
 
Heike (the concerned mommy)
Bianca (give me that belt! What do you mean you need it to hold up your
        pants? I saw it first!)
Fender (Mom - I am not feeling to well)
[Posted in FML issue 1273]