>I was in touch with Maria today about adopting some of these ferrets,
>and she asked me to post an addition. She says that, after going into
>the house, she's found that there are actually many, many more than 56
>ferrets. All of these guys really need your help.
Is this a hoarding situation? If so, please, in that situation look
into the official ways to work with governmental and ASPCA specialists
and others who are knowledgeable to handle this which can help reduce
reoccurrence of the behavior or transference of it to other species. If
there are large numbers of animals and a lot are in need then that is
worrisome. PLEASE, CLARIFY on these points. The things being written
publicly by multiple people are confusing, especially as they change for
the worse.
>I just talked to a very tired Marie. She has reported that the
>conditions are aweful and worse than first thought. Jennifer has
>collected/hoarded near 100 ferrets. Yes, that is 100 ferrets!!
If so, then this is a hoarding situation and if medical care is not
provided it is an abuse situation in my opinion (though the official
definitions of abuse are going to vary among states). If that is the
case then to protect these ferrets, perhaps get some money to help
with their health needs, and to prevent this happening again to any
species governmental officials NEED to be gotten involved and CAREFUL
documentation in situ before the animals are removed NEEDS to happen.
Like, I said, these reports are changing over time, so first-hand
clarification would be useful to get a grip on what is actually being
discussed.
----
It certainly is possible to injure a foot when in one position too long.
It is also possible when anaphylactic shock occurs to sometimes lose
enough fluid that small clots may result and one of those in the foot
could account for such problems but all will be fine if it breaks up
safely. Alternatively, when such shock reaches a point of being barely
survivable brain damage may occur. (This is rare in humans and I suspect
also rare in ferrets because those who reach this point usually die.) If
the ferret reached the point where standard treatments weren't enough and
oxygen and other supportive care were needed then there may be some brain
damage. I can tell you from experience, having had a ferret who passed a
thrombosis (a clot) resulting in several days of unconsciousness and 24
hour ICU care till he got well enough that a draggy foot can be coped
with. It took him a little while but he learned to do it and continued
to have a good life till his kidney disease took him. Most thromboses
are from heart disease -- often undiagnosed heart disease, but they can
be induced other ways such as inappropriate medications (including some
herbals like licorice root), kidney disease, etc. These, BTW, are often
mistakenly termed "strokes". Anyway, YES, a ferret can be happy and play
well even with a foot acting like that. If the problem winds up being
long term then at first expect some falling-over and then compensation by
the ferret and creative learning of new ways to do things. Been there,
seen that...
[Posted in FML issue 4272]
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