It has been a rough few weeks here, and isn't over yet.  Hershey is very
sick right now, and this may be the beginning of the end for him.
 
First it was Sassy, who was 9 years old.  She had developed a number of
problems recently, but the worst was her body could no longer regulate
her BG levels, even with medications.  We helped her leave on Dec. 4.
 
During her last week, I was pretty focused on her, and after she was
gone, I realized that Kokopelli wasn't doing well.  He is 6, and is
Hershey's cagemate.  He has an enlarged heart, a bad heart murmur, and
congestive heart failure.  He was on meds, but was suddenly losing weight
and not eating.  A checkup at the vet's showed that the heart meds were
causing renal failure, and the heart and CHF hadn't improved at all.
We cut the one med dose in half, and started him on Theodur - a
bronchodilator that will also work to stimulate the heart.  We also
started treating for ulcers, and there was evidence of stomach upset.
Kokopelli has improved some, but now Hershey is going down.
 
It started this past weekend.  First, he stopped eating treats and kibble
(he still eats his soups willingly).  Then he started declining the
opportunity to go downstairs and explore.  He has good and bad days, so
I didn't panic right off.  But after a few days, it became obvious a trip
to the vet was necessary.
 
As I feared, Hershey is starting into renal failure.  It is still in the
early stages, but there is little that we can do.  I will be trying to
put him on a lower protein diet, but that is all we can do, according to
my vet.  Does anyone know if this is painful for them?  I am not really
ready to say good-bye to him, but I do not want this sweet old man to
suffer any more, when there is no chance for improvement.  He has been
through so much, and deserves to be allowed peace rather then pain.
 
Danee
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.geocities.com/russiansmom
[Posted in FML issue 4003]