>She said no prevention has been approved yet but they use a reduced
>treatment they would give a cat after the ECho and Xrays they ruled out
>heartworms so they did not test for them does anyone treat Ferrets for
>heart worms and if so how??"
Ferrets CAN get heartworm, and even indoor ferrets (as with indoor cats)
are susceptible to it, and should be on preventatives at least during
mosquito season, especially in areas like New England, where heartworm
is endemic and on the rise. It doesn't take many heartworms to kill a
ferret, either, because of their tiny heart size.
Symptoms of the disease can include no symptoms at all-your ferret
basically drops dead and you don't know what killed it till a necropsy
is performed- and coughing, diarrhea, lethargy, respiratory distress,
vomiting, etc. If not treated, it's 100% fatal, and if you catch it
early enough, I think there is a 60% recovery rate... not sure about that
stat. (Incidentally, there is no effective treatment yet for cats...)
There's no FDA, USDA approved preventative (ferrets tend to get the
shaft...), but there is a recommended preventative: At our clinic, we
use the mixture of 0.3 cc (or 0.01 oz-it's easier in ml/cc!) ivermectin
(use the 1% injection concentration-I think you can buy this at
Agway-type stores under the brand name Ivomec, but your vet should have
this; you really don't need a whole container of the stuff!) and 1 oz
(approximately 29.6 ml)propylene glycol, dosed out at 0.1 cc per pound
of body weight (or 0.2 cc per kilogram; the concentration is 0.1 mg/ml
here), given orally once a month. It has a shelf life of about 2 years,
depending on the expiration dates on the individual ivermectin and
propylene glycol bases. It is light sensitive, so be sure it's in one of
those light block pharmacy bottles (they're usually amber; we have some
blue ones, too).
[Moderator's note: Watch the dose on the over-the counter stuff VERY
carefully. It's typically meant for large farm animals so it is usually
much stronger than the small-animal stuff. BIG]
That formulation without all my commentary in between:
0.3 ml ivermectin 1% sterile injectable solution + 1 oz propylene glycol
dosed out at 0.2 cc/kg of body weight; or 0.1 cc/lb of body weight.
You can also use Heartgard (you have to check with a vet about dosage for
your particular ferrets-a 1 kilogram ferret could get 1/2 of a large
Heartgard tablet; you may be able to use a whole small kitten tablet),
but the problem with this method is that the medication in the tablets is
not necessarily evenly distributed, so breaking it into parts can cause
uneven distribution of the preventative. And some ferrets are very picky
about the taste. You're better of with the ivermectin/propylene glycol
mix.
I use the ivermectin/PPG mix with my six, and it goes in easily and is
very inexpensive, especially compared to Heartgard.
I think Dr. Kemmerer wrote somewhere that she has treated about 30
ferrets for heartworm at her practice. And speaking of Dr. Kemmerer,
I found this from her at http://www.afip.org/ferrets/htworm.html
"Treatment.
Thiacetarsemide should be given at 0.12cc/lb via a cephalic catheter.
Four doses are given at twelve-hour intervals. Starting on the same day
as the first injection, administer prednisone orally at 0.25 mg/lb once
daily. Prednisone must be administered for three months following
thiacetarsemide therapy, and tapered off over a two-week period. One key
to treatment of ferrets is the prevention of emboli. Ferrets must remain
caged during the entire treatment period. The natural instinct of the
ferret to run and play may result in a fatal embolism.
Following treatment, occult heartworm tests may be repeated at monthly
intervals. Antigen tests may remain positive for up to six months, but
the average is about four months.
For more information on prevention and treatment of heartworm disease,
please contact:
Dr. Deborah Kemmerer
West End Animal Hospital
103 SW 140th Terrace
Newberry, FL 32669
(904) 332-4357"
Hope this helps!
-April AC
[Posted in FML issue 4284]
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