Probably no one recalls Chewy, my sable ferret.  He was kept in pine
shavings, and I wrote a few times about the number of times I had to
run to emergency with him because he was having considerable trouble
breathing.
 
Finally, a vet said get a nebulizer.  I used it on him for a year almost
nightly.  We just used saline-no meds.  It helped enormously.
 
Now a few years later-he is adrenal, and just went in for all tests.  His
heart is round.  And this is not a good thing, I guess.  It probably is
from the pine shavings, the vet said.  So he is seeing a heart specialist
who is flying in.  She will do an ultrasound on him to see if he might
withstand going under for surgery.
 
This is a very bad time for me financially to have this happen.  But I
have thought about it.  If I wait-it could be many months before the
heart specialist comes in again on a day I would be able to be there.  If
the adrenal is cancerous-it could metastasis.  Waiting could kill Chewy.
He cannot have adrenal surgery until this specialist does the ultrasound.
Tiny old Maria had cancer, even though this is unusual for adrenal.  You
just do not know.
 
The cost of the pine shavings bedding had already cost me several thousand
not long after I decided to tackle an animal impaired from the get-go.
Always having to be home every night to put Chewy on the nebulizer was
another kind of a strain.  And now comes the heart specialist.
 
I wrote about the dangers of pine shavings before.  I just want to remind
you all again.  I do not have time to look up the sites again.  You can
do that on your own.  Rabbits, rats, and ferrets cannot be kept in pine
shavings.  No-I do not mean cedar.  Cedar is also very bad.  How many
people are going to spend this amount of time and money on a ferret out
there?  Even I am cringing inside over this.  And the time--I will be
stuck around there for up to 8 hours, with an hour and a half drive each
way.
 
Spread the word to your pet stores if they are using pine or cedar, if
you get a chance, wont you?.
 
Poor little Chewy.  I hear him weezing in his sleep right now as I type
this.
[Posted in FML issue 3810]