The ferret I brought home from the shelter just two weeks ago is in trouble!
Becky was a petite thing to begin with, but seemed to be eating and drinking
ok.  I trust my shelter completely.  I noticed after a few days that Becky
had diarrhea.  Not the terrible ECE green type, just very liquid and brown
with yellow.  I watched with great concern but my other two weasels did
not/have not come down with it.  Earlier this week I notoced how thin Becky
was and that I never saw her eating.  I did see her drinking.  I began to
experiment and found that she would lap at ferrevite and ferretone.  She
lapped at chicken baby food and canned cat food.  She would only eat if I
was holding her.  I got her to my wonderful vet yesterday.  He determined
that she was not dehydrated ( a big relief) but much too thin --.82 of a
pound.  She also did not seem sick.  My vet did a blood test that revealed
normal readings in all but one critical area - the "ALT" of the liver.  This
indicates some kind of liver trauma, disease, or even bile duct blockage.
He ruled out duct blockage and speculated that for whatever reason, perhaps
grief or stress, she had stopped eating which in turn led to liver failure
because she was so tiny to begin with.  He also said that the liver is an
organ which can regenerate, and my first effort should be to force-feed her
with a syringe, every 4-6 hours, with AD diet, slightly diluted in warm
water.  With luck, if she gains weight, she could recover.  Also, that if
she were to vomit the feedings, it would be a very bad sign.
 
I began the feedings last night but did not have to struggle much -- she
lapped it right out of the syringe like a baby bottle.  She won't eat it
from a dish, only if I squeeze it into her mouth!  She drinks water on her
own.  All of the feedings have gone well.
 
If any vets or other experts (and we have so many here on the FML ;-D )
could comment I would be so grateful.  It has been a horrible time for us
lately -- what with two ferrets lost, our darling ferret-loving cat dying
suddenly Tuesday night, and now our latest rescue costing us even more
heartache (and hundreds of dollars, don't flame me, it's worth it) only 10
days after adoption.
 
Here are the "VetScan" readings:
 
ALB  1.1   ALP 131    ALT 1654 (normal 120!!!)   AMY 12    TBIL 0.7
BUN 20     CA++  9.3  CHOL 152      CRE  0.4     GLU  111  K+ 3.9
TP 4.4     GLOB  3.3
 
P.S. Our vet is wonderful.  He successfully performed RIGHT adrenal surgery
on two of my ferrets who came through just fine.  In no way is this second-
guessing him.  Just wanted any comments.
MANY THANKS,
 
Kat
[Posted in FML issue 2247]