Hi all,
 
Got a question ... we recently got a 14-week old female from a local
breeder.  The little female has diarrhea ... and may have had for a time
as the breeder is pretty overwhelmed with ferrets and might not have
noticed.  She did notice the little female wasn't gaining weight well.
 
She's *NOT* sick despite this.  She plays hard, eats hard and generally acts
like a normally 14-week-old female.  She's, obviously, not being allowed to
interact with our other eight at the moment (which really bums both the kit
and myself) but I'm confused about what to do.  Our vet checked her out and
pronounced her healthy (other than this problem).  She gave her a shot "to
slow down the diarrhea" and told us to give her a few drops of Pepto Bismol
every 4 hrs to firm up the stool.  The diarrhea has gone from liquid to
pasty in 36 hrs but that's the best we have been able to achieve.
 
She won't eat a bland diet (baby food chicken, etc).  She wants the IAMS
kitten chow that everyone here gets (she was getting that and Science Diet
at the breeders).  I've encouraged her by moistening the IAMS and she is
definitely eating her normal amount.
 
So, any ideas?  Anyone had a situation like this before?  (BTW - her stools
are normal color, just the wrong consistancy)
 
She's had all but her last series of shots and has been spayed.
 
(Oh, when we got her she was FILTHY with fleas (we got over 30 of them off
her that we counted) and I wondered if that might not have given her a case
of irritated bowel from just worry)
 
Linda
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[Posted in FML issue 1279]