Tonight I learned that my wonderful, adorable, beloved fuzzy girl, Lucky
Charm, has kidney disease.  I lost my first ferret, C-pi, to kidney failure
and I am devastated.
 
Lucky Charm's kidney troubles became apparent when we did a routine blood
check recently upon refilling a prescription for Florinef, which she has
been taking since her right adrenalectomy in August.  This weekend we did a
a follow-up blood check and a urinalysis.  Her calcium levels are high (13
vs. a normal of 11), creatinine is high (1.0 vs. 0.4), and urine specific
gravity is high (10.18, meaning it is dilute and she is not clearing waste
products from her body efficiently).
 
Does anyone here know of any treatment at all to alleviate her condition
or prolong her life?  Are there any medications to help with this?  She's
doing OK so far, though sometimes she slips a little while running.  It
seems like every time I turn around, one of my ferrets is dying of cancer
or kidney failure.
 
Oh, and I forgot to mention, another one of my ferrets, Chocolate Moose,
is now also showing elevated creatinine and specific gravity levels.
 
Please help if you can or let me know what you have done to help your
ferrets in similar situations.
 
Linda, Lucky Charm, Chocolate Moose, & Zipper
[Posted in FML issue 2926]