To everyone,
Eventually you may have a ferret who suffers from CHF or congestive heart
failure.  I am not a vet and do not offer advice.  What I can offer are our
experiences and hope by sharing them with you that it may in some way help
you to deal with it as your little fuzzy goes through it.  We still have our
"big boy".  About 2 or 3 weeks prior to the critical events I am about to
describe, Poto had a "slow-down".  It was subtle, but noticeable.  I did not
know what was going on but noticed less playfulness and activity from him.
Then one night I awoke at about 2:30 am and saw Poto, our oldest male
ferret(probably almost 7 yrs old now) lying on the bathroom rug and looking
"different".  Sort of extra "flat" and limpish.  I got up and usually he
would perk up and watch me, but this time he just laid there and when I
tried to stir him, he wouldn't get active.  It is different than just being
sleepy and I find it a bit difficult to relate in words, but you would know
if you are close to your ferret.  Being a nurse, I have a stethescope so I
listened to his heart and it was really frightening to hear his hear beat
too slowly, then stop, start again and at times race very fast.  I thought
he was dying and later I realized of course that he indeed may have.  I
might say at this point that you can put your ear to your ferret's chest and
hear their heartbeat also and don't necessarily need a stethescope.  My
husband got up and got him to stir and he seemed a bit better sort of but I
was on the phone to a local vet by now.  After describing his symptoms, the
(ferret illiterate) vet said it could wait till morning.  Well, morning
brought a heart that was racing to almost 400 beats per minute and then down
to 200 beats, according to the local vet and an x-ray that wasn't read until
late afternoon despite several calls by myself to the clinic.  It was 6pm
before Poto was given his first dose of lasix (2mg).  What the x-ray had
revealed was that Poto's lungs and abdominal cavity was filling with fluid.
There was a problem, however, in that the vet did not know for sure what he
was seeing on the x-ray.  The lasix was indeed what Poto needed but it came
almost too late (almost 30 hours from the time we discovered Poto's
symptoms) and perhaps a larger dose would have gotten faster results.  We
left the clinic with no diagnose given, despite the symptoms and an x-ray.
Anyway, that night brought even worse symptoms of his condition.  He
struggled to breathe and at times experienced a "soft wet sounding cough".
Only a couple or three during the night, but here again, I could distinguish
that there was something different about this cough than the usual cough I
have heard from my ferrets.  Also, Poto had not had a cough prior to this
episode.  Early the next morning we talked to a skilled ferret vet whose
office was 3 hours away and were on the road early.  I gave Poto another
dose of lasix (2mg) before we left home at 6am.  We were still in trouble
when we got Poto to the vet's office and were sent to a city 2 hours away
for high-tech diagnostic tests.  By now, the lasix had taken much of the
fluid from Poto's abdominal cavity and lungs and I am pleased to say that
the sonagram of his heart revealed that his heart valves were working
normally.  There was a pad of fat by his heart.  That added to his problems
according to his doctor.  He did have two water filled cysts in his kidneys
but I do not think the doctors connect that condition with his CHF.  Poto
suffered longer than he should have had to suffer, and his life was
literally at risk much longer than it should have been.  At home we
continued the lasix doses and at the advice of his specialist vet, gradually
reduced the amount of lasix to it's lowest possible effective level, which
is for Poto, a 1/2 mg dose given two times a day, 12 hours apart.  In
addition, Poto recieves a very small dose of a 1 mg tablet of enecard
(animal medication) and that is one eighth of one tab daily.  I use liquid
lasix since his dose is small and I mix it with 5 teaspoons of liquid and
the liquid consists of 1 teaspoon Sustical and 4 teaspoons of water.  I add
the enecard (finely ground) to the evening dose of milk/water with the lasix
(1/2 mg) in it.  So Poto recieves 1/2 mg of lasix am and 1/2 mg lasix pm
with the 1/8th piece of a 1 mg tablet of enecard finely ground up and added
to the milk/water which has been slightly warmed.  Oh yes, I also put a
sprinkle of brewer's yeast in the milk/water to help disguise the taste of
the liquid lasix which is terrible.  Lasix also comes in a tablet form.
Poto is overweight.  It puts more strain on his heart because he is
overweight.  It is easier to keep your ferret from getting fat than it is to
get the weight off of him/her.  Obesity in ferrets shortens ferrets lives
just like it does humans.  When the weather was milder, we took walks and
that helped some.  Right now and for several months, Poto has been doing
wonderfully well and plays like his old self which is vigorously at times
and seems as good as before, but that is because he has always been a very
strong ferret.  We have worked hard to try to get his weight down slowly.
It is very difficult.  Restricted calorie Eukanuba (only buy at some vet's
clinics)has helped some.  Now, I mix it with the regular Eukanuba since the
restricted formula is not primarily a meat based formula like the regular
lamb and rice is.  I also plan to try reduced calorie Totally Ferret since
our ferrets like the regular kind.  Anyone know of a good catalog source for
reduced calorie TF is?  CHF in ferrets is a progressive disease just like it
is in humans.  According to the literature I have read, ferrets have been
known to live up to 2 years after onset of symptoms.  We are about 8 months
down the road now.  In the future, I expect to have to increase the lasix
dosage.  This will be a very special Christmas for us because our beloved
Poto is still with us.  I do recommend that you read all you can get your
hands on CHF and ferrets.  There is not a lot out there and your vet may not
be skilled in treating ferrets who have it.  It is different than treating
cats or dogs and you may be able to shed some light on your fuzzie's best
course of treatment for your vet and yourself.
 
Merry Christmas and God bless you all whether fuzzy or bald.
Jan and Don and our 10 little blessings.
[Posted in FML issue 2160]