Ginger - I received a frantic call from a friend that has 3 ferrets.  She
had just taken in a ferret from an 11 year old boy (a playmate or schoolmate
of her son) and she was very concerned.  I stopped by her house and she
showed me Ginger.  What I saw was literally a nearly starved to death tiny,
coarse sparse coated very sweet ferret.  Ginger couldn't even walk without
falling over.  Serita said as soon as Ginger saw the food she didn't even
come up to breath.  She ate and ate and ate and....
 
Ginger was kept in the little boys bedroom and was his responsibility.  Poor
Ginger was fed when he remembered or when he felt like it.  The same for
water.  The parents obviously did not check on Ginger.  The boy had Ginger
for only a year and had originally bought her from a college student.
 
We were frightened that Ginger wouldn't make it but her eating was a good
sign.  It has been over a week and she is doing very well.  She no longer
falls when she tries to walk but she still constantly eats and drinks, a
necessity she was not allowed at her previous home.  Had the boy not given
her to Serita, Ginger might very well be dead now.
 
Emporia Vet - I received a call from a woman who had a 7 1/2 yr old ferret
diagnosed with Insulinoma.  Her vet had essentially told her the ferret
would die soon and there wasn't anything she could do.  He made no mention
of medication or surgery.
 
She was in tears thinking she needed to make the decision of whether to
euthenize or not.  We talked about diet, medications, and surgery and she
decided the best option was medication & diet.  I sent a packet of info and
she took it to her vet.  The vet was unresponsive and asked her if she was
keeping the ferret around for herself.  He was prepared to euthenize her
baby.  She refused and called me.  I recommended she contact all the vets
(3) in her area and explain the situation.  She called back the following
evening and said she found a vet that prescribed Prelone.  I don't
understand why the first vet took that attitude with her.  She obviously
loved and cared deeply for her ferret.  She'd gotten her when she was just 6
weeks old and the ferret had never been sick before.  Before calling me she
agonized over "the decision", when in actuality the illness could be treated
with medication.  I just don't understand....
 
United/Fervac - Received a call from Canada.  A woman took her 2 1/2 yr old
ferret in for his yearly vaccinations and he had a minor reaction within 20
minutes after the vaccination and 5 hours he had a SEVERE reaction.  She
rushed him back to the vet's office and two weeks later he is still not back
to his old self.  She contacted United and they said their reaction rate was
only .05%.  Her vet alone, who has a small ferret clientele, has had 2
reactions.  He had called in the reactions and United had no record of the
reports.  He contacted United and also sent all the Fervac he had back to
the company.  She has asked that I spread the word of how very important it
is to report ALL vaccine reactions not only to the USDA Vaccine Hotline but
to the manufacturer and distributor also.
 
It's been one of those weeks.....
 
Hugs to all.  tle
[Posted in FML issue 1811]