Hi everyone,
I don't know if Ann Davis is on the list or not, but I really want to thank
her for the "Duck Soup" recipe in the Ferret FAQ!  My wonderful girl "Pace"
has been on this stuff since she started losing weight due to insulinoma
(and adrenal, it turns out), and I am absolutely sure that it has saved
her life.  Much thanks to everyone who has contributed to the FAQ as well,
especially Pam G, since I've been referring to the FAQ on a regular basis
for more than 6 years.
 
On to my question.  Pace stopped eating on her own about 4 months ago.  She
was immediately diagnosed with Insulinoma, and was put on meds to keep her
glucose level stable-ish.  Since I couldn't get her to eat the dry food
that she's always eaten, I turned to Duck Soup and hand fed her 4 times
(or more) a day.  She's gained weight, and done very well on the Duck
Soup, and the vet was shocked by how well she has done.
 
Last week, she was max'ed on the medication, and her glucose would still
not stabilize, so she went under the knife.  They found a pea-sized tumour
on her pancreas, and it was removed without complication.  They also
noticed that her left adrenal was slightly enlarged, and since she was
already showing symptoms, they removed it as well.
 
She's recovering very nicely from the surgery, but she won't eat much of
anything.  If I hand feed her Duck Soup, she'll lick the stuff on my finger
(maybe 6 finger fulls) and then she does everything possible to get away
from me.  She won't eat dry food, except if I trick her into thinking it's
a treat, but this only works once a day.  She will still eat milkbones,
raisins, Nutrapet, Linatone, etc.  She won't eat chicken baby food, either
 
Short term, I think I can get enough calories in her to keep her healthy,
but I feel like I have to battle her several times a day to do it.  I have
to find a way to get her back on dry food, or else her quality of life
will never get back to the way it was.
 
Does anyone have some advice for me?  If this is something that is asked
too often here on the list, feel free to mail me offlist.
 
Thanks,
Jim (and Pace)
[Posted in FML issue 3488]