I hope you all remember the little guy, that came in here infested with
scabbies.  Well, he is much improved.  He spent several miserable days
though as the mites started dying, his body reacted with an immune response
and there was alot of itching and swelling of his feet, legs, and head.
Poor guy's head was round like a golf ball.  The Benadryl just couldn't kick
it, so off we went to the vet for a cortisone shot 1-1/2 weeks ago on a
Thursday.  I was sick that day, but my vet would be out of town from Friday
until Tuesday so I couldn't let poor Choco go that long without the shot.
So I took some pills which made me feel somewhat better and I dragged myself
to the vet's (one hour+ away).  I took a few others in since I was going,
for some ultrasounds.
 
I made it home but about half-way I started feeling just awful!  I dragged
myself in and put the kids in the kitchen floor (still in their carriers),
grabbed the portable phone and dropped like a rock into my large beanbag in
the livingroom floor.  I fell right to sleep or passed out, I am not sure
which, I intended to call someone not go to sleep!  I awoke over an hour
later and simply could not get up.  I called a friend who could come and
help with the kids.  She put them up and checked everyone else then sat with
me until I felt a little better.  I took more pills and that finally helped.
But boy was I sick!!  I didn't get up until around 10pm but felt much
better.  I dragged myself to bed and woke up very late the next day, feeling
like I might actually live.  I guess it was a virus of some sort, the worst
I've ever had, but luckily none of the kids got it!  Boy, this is one time
when living alone is the pits!!
 
Well, Choco has continued to improve and went in for his second round of
Ivermectin on Friday.  He sure feels better, and his ears have healed and he
only has a couple of sores left on his belly, other than that he looks
normal finally!  Tonight he gave me kisses!!!!  That made me so happy!!!
He's such a sweet boy, he's starting to get over being so afraid of things
too, just a little.  I just can't wait until I can do more things with him,
and start treating him like a *ferret*.  He's started playing with his toys
in his huge cage :> and he eats all the time and just loves being here.  If
only he could come out and play, oh well, that will happen soon.
 
We tested a couple with the ultrasound machine, and found that Itchy has an
adrenal tumor....ah hah!!  That accounts for the hairloss that I thought
suspicious across his shoulders and on his tail, I just kept thinking it
might be allergies still.  So he'll be up for surgery very soon.  I sure
hate that, he really got scared just by the ultrasound test, he bit me
during the test (not too hard though), that is something he hasn't done
since his second day here....Itchy *loves* me, he just thought we were
trying to hurt him.  I think all that really shook his confidence in me, boy
that hurts.  He has been wierd ever since and he refused to eat his TF or
even Iams for a week, he'd take a little Duck Soup, but not unless I
hand-fed him and even then he only ate a little, and he made a huge mess!
 
Finally, two nights ago we sat and played with some odd brand of food I had
picked up samples of in Florida (Nutro's Natural Choice Catfood, sometimes I
use other foods like this to bridge them over onto TF if they are on crappy
food but refuse TF) and he tried that, I'd hand him one piece and he'd take
it away and eat it and come back for more, we did that for 15 minutes, then
I mixed the odd food with his and he began eating out of the bowl.  Today he
emptied his huge food bowl completely (with only TF in it), so he's back on
track now.  I am sure the surgery will be very traumatic for him though.
Itchy is the ferret that was severely abused and on his way to be euthanized
when he was snatched up and brought to me.  He didn't trust *any* human when
he came here, but soon learned to trust me, now all that is being
jeopardized by the treatment he needs.  I just don't know what to do.  Poor
kid.
 
So that's some of the news to date.
 
Trish
Director, Ferrets First Rescue & Shelter
[Posted in FML issue 1923]