Hello everyone,
 
Last night Jitterbug woke me up from a bizarre noise she was making.  It
sounded like she was choking on something (I immediately thought of Monkey
and said, Oh boy here we go again).  But this time it was kind of different.
At first I thought she was starting to throw up and then swallowing it back
down as she would make the noise and then her mouth would start working as
if she was eating something.  I thought perhaps she is grinding her teeth in
pain, but it really seemed more like she was swallowing something and it
would only happen after this hacking noise she would make.  The whole matter
was complicated by the fact that she really wanted to get out of the cage
and play.  I don't understand why she would want to play if she was in pain,
but I took her out and went into the bathroom with her and shut the door (so
she wouldn't just run off).  She was running around totally hyper seeming
fine EXCEPT that she would periodically make this noise and then begin to
work her mouth as if swallowing (just for a second).  I gave her water, she
drank it, I gave her babyfood, she ate it.  Still she kept making this noise
and working her mouth.  My SO thought it might be a sneezing or coughing fit
or the hiccups, but it looked much more like she was dry heaving to me.  It
just didn't make sense that she would eat, drink, and PLAY if she wasn't
feeling good.  This is the ferret that I believe is Adrenal - I don't know
if that makes any difference.  I stayed up for an hour while she continued
this behavior (at 4 am) and I am scared out of my wits.
 
Please e-mail me back at this address if you think you know what was going
on.  I am leaving town on Friday and am very worried about her.  (My SO will
stay with her, but he doesn't know very much about ferrets).  Please,
Please, Please, rush me any information, especially any from a vet.
 
Thanks so much.
 
Katlin
[Posted in FML issue 1965]