Hi there - I'm sorry to hear about Sturmie.  I have experienced kidney
failure in a ferret - my Nik passed away quietly at home in September after
being diagnosed with it.  I want to forewarn you that the many details of
my experience are not pleasant but I thought maybe someone could learn
something from this.
 
Unfortunately, we didn't catch it soon enough.  Hopefully, you have for
Sturmie.  My vet said that maybe if we had caught it sooner, there might
have been more he could have done for Nik.  By the time he started showing
outward signs of problems, he was pretty much out of luck.  One week he was
fine and the next he was gone.  I keep thinking of what did I miss, how on
earth was I so stupid not to have noticed *some* sign earlier, etc.  I know
I shouldn't beat myself up but it's hard not to.
 
It turned out that Nik had a tumour on the one kidney and it had shut down
long ago, so the remaining was working overtime and just couldn't do the
work anymore.  He had had hair loss but was eating fine, playing well,
taking over the universe at my friend's place when she babysat him the
month before, etc.  I had put Buster through two surgeries earlier that
year (he was helped across the Bridge in June) and I had saw how hard it
was on him and didn't want to put Nik through the same thing unless it
seemed absolutely necessary.  He was happy and full of energy and I had him
on Timmy's Tonic.  Nik had even had some fur growing back shortly before
this time, so I thought he was doing well.  Sigh!
 
My vet mentioned "jump starting" the kidneys with sub-Q fluids and meds if
we had caught the problem sooner.  Nik did receive sub-Q treatment but we
knew we were running out of time when it started taking much longer for
the fluids to absorb.  He was dehydrated (I feel I should have picked up
on this much sooner) and I was giving him lots of Pedialyte as well as
portions of duck soup.  My first real indicator though was that he was
hardly eating.  I checked his teeth and noticed two small white dots on his
gums.  Apparently, these little mouth ulcers are sometimes indicators of
kidney problems.  There were three the day before I got him into the vet
(couldn't get an appointment right away), by the next day, they had
multiplied alot!  His breath was REALLY bad at this time too.  I had
stepped up the duck soup in the meantime, and soon we were having to force
feed him with a syringe.  He got weak very quickly and his feet were
curling, a sign of problems in the nervous system due in part to the
kidneys and therefore, body shutting down.
 
Surprisingly, except for his last day or two, he was still peeing and
pooping (poops were a bit runny, but I think this was also due in part from
the duck soup and liquid diet versus more solid food) normally.  He fought
with every bit to make it back to the newspaper to do his business even
though he was very week.  Just about killed me watching this determination
not to embarrass himself.  I had to hold him up so he wouldn't soil himself.
 
He was also during this time, sleeping alot more of course.  The night he
passed away, I had had another ferret buddy, Paige, come with me to the
vet's.  I wanted to learn how to do sub-Q's and was ready to do it through
the night if I had to.  I had also called Judith, Nik's "godmother", to
come and see him because my instincts were telling me we didn't have much
time together.  That night, my wonderfully supportive boyfriend, Jasper,
cooked us dinner, while Paige, Judith and I took turns holding Nik, keeping
him warm (his body temperature was low and I had bought a heating pad to
keep him warm), talking to him and making sure he knew he was loved.
Judith was holding him and I was about to ask her to pass him to me, when
she looked at me like a deer in headlights.  "What's the matter??  Say
something please!!"  "I, I think he's gone.  There was just this big sigh
and then nothing." I thought I was going to have a cardiac.  But luckily I
had lots of support there with me and I did realize that at least he went
peacefully and surrounded by loved ones.
 
Jasper and I buried him in a nice park near our home, under two big trees
and this spring I'm hoping to make a wind chime to hang in the tree above
him, as a symbol of his undaunting and happy, troublemaking spirit.
 
I'm sorry this isn't a happy ending, but from the sounds of what you told
us, you have a very good chance of helping Sturbie recover.  Good luck and
know that our thoughts our with you.
 
Take care - George, Jasper and the Crew of Gushi, Geisha and Frodo
(missing Nik and Buster)
 
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Georgette Peters                          Nothing is ferret-proof to a
Steacie Science Library                   sufficiently talented ferret.
York University
4700 Keele Street                                     *****
North York, Ontario                                 *********
M3J 1P3                                               *****
(416)736-5084
                                             Dook, dook, bjork, bjork!
e-mail - [log in to unmask]                        - Swedish Ferret
 
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[Posted in FML issue 2552]