Dear Fellow Ferret Fans:
 
I have been reading the FML for about one month now.  I have two ferrets - a
sable gib named Ferris and an albino sprite named Meeka.  Ferris came from a
local pet store and Meeka was adopted several months later from the Toronto
Humane Society.  They are wild and crazy ferrets and wonderful companions.
Both ferrets have been very healthy (touch wood).  We also have lots of cats
and it is the treatment of arthritis in one of them that I want to share
with you all.
 
First - some history.  Fred <RB>, my oldest cat started getting arthritic
several years ago and the vet prescribed a steroid.  (Winstrol-V 2mg., one
tablet per day).  This appeared to help but as Fred <RB> got older I
realized he was experiencing discomfort.  About this same time, last Fall, I
saw a small article in the Toronto Globe and Mail (newspaper) about work
being done at the University of Guelph Vets department with Caribou horn for
the treatment of arthritis.  I took the article to my vet but he could not
track down any info.  I decided to take matters into my own hands and went
to a Chinese herbal medicine store in my town.  I selected the most
expensive antler product I could see and the staff ground about $20.00 of it
into a fine powder.  I hid it in meat baby food and gave it to Fred.  My
dosage was 1/4 teaspoon three times a day for an approx.  15 pound cat.
Within three days Fred <RB>was able to do things that I had not seen him be
able to do for months (like jumping up on the bed and drinking out of the
toilet).
 
Friends have since bought the antler and used it for a cat (again
improvement) and another set of friends bought it for their dog (again
success).  The question I pose now is could this be a treatment for ferret
arthritis?  The $20.00 worth of powder lasts about a month for a 15 pound
animal.  Ferret treatment based on weight would not be that expensive.
(remember this is Canadian money so you U.S.  folks could get tons - just
joking).  The catch is that you need to be around Chinese population to
access this product - at least I have found no one else and nowhere else to
get it.  Unfortunately Fred <RB>passed away on April 15, at 21 years of age.
He succumbed to heart disease and diabetes.  But his memory may live in the
FML if this product proves to be a help to those of us who will all have to
eventually deal with the ailments of aging ferrets.  I have sent the
remainder of Fred's antler powder to Bob Church's address for him to use
when he returns from his whirlwind tour.  I hope he will succeed in easing
his aging ferret's discomfort and will keep us all posted on his progress.
 
Please note that the harvesting of caribou antler does not reguire the
sacrificing of the animal as they shed once a year.
 
I would appreciate discussion on this topic specially if anyone knows of the
work being done at Guelph and please feel free to EMail me.
 
I thank you BIG for allowing this lengthy discourse and also for all your
fine work on the FML.
Lynn Foster
[Posted in FML issue 1560]