Wow, now Patches is even receiving messages *on* the FML!  I read three
today from people posting, saying they're glad he's doing better.  From
Karen:
 
>Hey you all, weez all want to get together and tell Patches that it made us
>feel REAL good that he's eating, and feels better, cause you wouldn't be
>eating if you didn't feel better!  Man!  did you give YOUR mommy a scare!
>Keep it UP!  (not the scare, the eating!) We're all sending our fuzzie
>kisses at ya!
 
Boy did you get that right, about the scare!  He's doing wonderfully so far!
And the BEST news is that I just got the phone call from the vet....it's
Lymphosarcoma, not systemic mast cells!  Remember, if it was lymphosarcoma,
we could control it with Pred, but if it was systemic mast cells, the vet
said there was nothing to be done.  YEAAAAAA!  We realize that Patches won't
live to be 12, but we sure won't be losing him right away either.  Ahhh, I'm
so glad we opted for surgery!!!!!  (Thanks, Alicia...you know what for!!!)
 
On another note.  This is for vets and ferret owners alike, and pass this
message on to all of your vets as well.  If you all recall, Patches was
prescribed PediaPred, which he literally freaked out about when it got near
him.  He HATED it, actually hate is not a strong enough word.  I thought he
was going to kill me, literally.  The vet didn't prescribe Prednisone pills
because she said that they only came in 5mg tablets, and the dose he would
need would make trying to split the pill too hard (like in quarters or
sixths).  But I remembered another vet prescribing Pred Pills to another of
my ferrets, so I went to the pharmacy to ask what I could do.  They now make
pred pills in BOTH 5mg and 1mg.  However, in my vet's 1996 veterinary
pharmaceutical catalog (1997 catalog isn't out yet) the ONLY pills that are
listed are the 5mg, so she never even knew about the 1mg ones.  I have
spoken with several people about Patches in private e-mails and they didn't
know about the 1mg tablets, either.  Please tell your vets that they now
have these tablets!  For ferrets that hate the liquid as much as Patches
did, it's so much kinder to just scruff them, make them yawn, drop the pill
in the very back of the throat, hold the mouth closed and stroke the chin
while they swallow.  Follow up with a nice dollup of Ferretone or something,
and you'll be your ferret's best friend.  No fuss at all from Patches!  And
a bonus: the pediapred cost $22 for the bottle.  The pedia pills cost me
$3.50!!!!!!
 
Hope that will help some of you!
 
Kymberlie Becker
Director, Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association
"Forget Puppy Love...There's nothing Greater than Ferret Love!" TM
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ferretlady
[Posted in FML issue 2006]