8/16/91  Forgot to mention in last posting that the aberrations of behavior in
which neutered male ferrets begin behavior on non-ferret cylindrical objects or
do neck bites and drag or try to mount females (even well spayed ones) is in the
normal range of behaviors from what we have seen, just like pitiful attempts
made by neutered male dogs are within normal range.  Also forgot to mention
that, when possible, positive reward for good behavior (in this case switching
to kisses or displacing to cylindrical toy, or learning to groom Mommy -- which
may involve kisses and maybe gentle grooming with incisors only) tends to have
the best results, but it's hard as heck to be positive to a little guy who is
trying to invent S&M.  We wonder if females have many nerves in the back of the
neck and upper back, partly because Frit hardly notices her twice daily
subcutaneous 20 cc of 2.5% dextrose and 0,45 % sodium chloride solution (%s
important for vets)
 
If you had seen Fritter recently you would be shocked at her level of
improvement since we began the injections on Tuesday night (It is only Friday
morning now).  She looked close to death's door and sad then, although she
cuddled and had short spells of play, but this am she enjoyed serious bouts of
play spaced with short breathers for 1 & 1/2 hours!  She is cuddling more
seriously and ravenous for kisses, demanding to be carried outside for smelling
sessions, and beginning to groom again, and yesterday was the first day after 1
week when I did not need to force feed her almost every thing (exceptions
included stuff like Ben and Jerry's vanilla which she gets now when being stuck
and pumped up) so her sense of hunger seems to be returning.  We are
concentrating on loaded calories like Nutrical enriched foods, and hard boiled
egg yolk with heavy cream and Brewers yeast, and they have been very useful for
preventing a dangerous weight loss.  When we'll really relax will be when she
once again takes cat food on her own, but she has not yet reached that point.
Honestly expected to lose her before, but now she's having a grand time and
acting wonderfully.  Amazing how much is being learned about treating cancer in
ferrets; turns out they may have better survivability for at least some types
than cats have -- the trick is that people just need to learn which treatments
they respond well to because most of that work just hasn't been done yet.
Dr. Newman at Hillsborough is just dynamite at researching, using common sense,
and consulting when needed.  (When my Mom had cancer it's discovery was delayed
for a long amount of time -- almost two years since it's location on a major
nerve started pain at a very early stage -- and proper treatments which may have
saved her were delayed until it was too late to do them because her MD's ego
stopped him from thinking that he should look harder and consult.  For obvious
reasons I appreciate professions who can say that they don't know and who then
try to learn.)
 
Sukie
 
even more on Fritter  8/18
 
Fritter continues to improve.  She spent much of last night eating hard
cat food for the first time in a week.  The amount of improvement has
been remarkable.
 
One thing we've noticed on ferret behavior is that they strongly respond
to praise.  The worst kind of swearing is hissing -- if one nips as a kit,
you can usually make them stop dead in their tracks by hissing at them.
 
Steve
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0169]