One of the most heartening posts I've heard in a long time....
 
>Dr. Williams,
 
>>> Most helpful treatment - probably a lot of attention and love.  Ferrets
love to be hand-fed - when we have one that won't eat, we take hours with them
daily offering food and water and plenty of attention.<<<
 
>I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!!  I read
>your post and went up and picked up Sam, who hasn't eaten a bite on his own
>for the past 5-6 weeks.  I held him and scritched him for nearly two hours
>straight.  He just layed there with his eyes closed and sighed some.  Then he
>asked to be set down.  I thought he wanted to use the litterbox so I set him
>in his cage.  He walked over to his food bowl and actually started to
>eat!!!!!!  He ate for about 10 minutes then asked to be picked up again.  I
>held him for another hour and he asked to get down, went in his cage, used
>the litterbox, then ATE AGAIN!!!
 
>Thanks for the advice.  Thinking back on it, the only time he was really held
>was when we were trying to force feed him.  It seemed that all he really
>wanted was to have someone show him that he *was* wanted.  The force feedings
>just added to his stress.
 
>Dick Bossart
 
        Sorry, but I wanted to repost it, in case anyone missed it.  Just goes
to show that sometimes the BEST medicine, isn't really medicine at all.
 
        Now make sure he gets that medicine at least ONCE daily, twice on
weekends :)
 
--
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask]               Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]             Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
(202) 782-2600/2602
[Posted in FML issue 1163]