It's been a while since I posted about Jerry.  Jerry is our 7-year-old
ferret with kidney failure, insulinoma, and adrenal carcinoma.  Jerry had a
very good Christmas.  She traveled with us to New Jersey and Ohio, along
with our four other ferrets, our dog, and Jerry's complicated array of
medical supplies.  She was unusually energetic for a few days, even wanting
to get out of the cage when we put her back after play time.  She liked the
little tent we got the ferrets for Christmas.  She spent a lot of time
stashing raisins in there.  She enjoyed drinking water out of the dog's bowl
and exploring my parents' house.  Just before Christmas, we cut back on the
protein in her food and started her on Amphojel.  This is in addition to
daily doses of Amoxicillin, Carafate, Tums, and Pet-Tinic; twice-weekly
fluid injections; and four daily syringe feedings of Fran Wiles' "Scooter
Goo," modified for kidney failure.  On our second holiday trip, Jerry was
less energetic but still stashed countless raisins, even climbing up on the
couch repeatedly to get more raisins.  She even ate a raisin once in a
while.  Unfortunately, we noticed that Jerry is once again losing hair in
the adrenal pattern.  (She had surgery for insulinoma and adrenal carcinoma
in October.)
 
After we returned from Ohio, Jerry took a turn for the worse.  She started
trembling violently.  She cried while using the litter box.  We took her to
Dr. Weiss on Monday.  He said she could have ingested some type of cleaning
product by walking in it and licking her paws.  He also said her BUN could
be high enough to cause neurological symptoms.  (It was in the 160's the
last time she had a chem screen.) He gave her a fluid injection and an
injection of an anabolic steroid, Winstrol V.  (Dr. Dutton suggested the
Winstrol V and we decided to try it after returning from our holiday trips.)
Dr. Weiss also recommended giving her a quarter of a baby aspirin twice a
day for two days.  We had hoped to see an improvement in Jerry's condition
after all this, but she is not much better.  She still has trembling
episodes, and she sleeps almost all the time.  The one good thing is that
she still eats well.
 
Does anyone know how many grams of protein per day should be given to a
ferret with kidney failure?  Dr. Weiss said the cat guidelines are not
suitable for ferrets.  Does anyone know of anything else that could be done
for Jerry?  I know we may have reached the end of the road, but I'm hoping
there is something else we can do.
 
Bridgett, the ferret we rescued a year and a half ago, will have adrenal
surgery on January 16th.  Fortunately, her only symptom is hair loss; she
doesn't act sick at all.  We hope she will make a complete recovery.  She is
only about 2.5 to 3 years old.
 
I really appreciate it when people close their FML posts with prayers and
wishes for all the sick ferrets.
 
Clare Sebok
[Posted in FML issue 1809]