Hello, it's been quite a while since I've posted to the list.  I don't
know if any of you would remember me and my ferrets loopylaura was my
email for several years now that just a trash email.  Tavi, Booger, Vex,
Skooder, Pharoah and Jasper were my ferrets back then.  Anyway, let me
fill you in on what's been going on with my kids.
 
Jasper and Pharoah went to the Rainbow Bridge about a year ago.  About 6
months ago Booger and Vex had to be put to sleep with in 5 days of each
other.  I had been in Dallas for a week visiting my boyfriend and looking
for an apartment., when I came home (my mom was taking care of the kids)
it was obvious she had only done the minimum of care ie food and water.
She didn't clean the cage even once while I was gone and needless to say
I was furious.
 
Well, I visited with the kids and noticed Booger was a bit thin so I got
worried and mixed up some duck soup to keep him up until I could take him
to the vet on Monday.  Sunday night he would only drink water and not eat
even his favorite treat of raisins.  Monday morning I woke up to find him
in a pool of black blood.  I knew it was over for him right then and took
him to the only ferret vet that was open early.  They took x-rays and saw
that both of his kidneys were deformed and told me all of his organs were
shutting down.  He was fine when I left town 5 days before, I don't know
what happened.  The vet said it was old age, he was 6.
 
That Friday I woke up to Vex crying.  I thought that Skooder, the
youngest, was beating up on him so I took him out and put him in the
travel cage for a while as I went about my business of the day.  Then a
few minutes later I hear him crying again and see he is trying to urinate
and only blood is coming out. *sigh*  I take him to the early morning vet
that put Booger down and they told me he had kidney stones that he was
trying to pass but they were too large and there was nothing they could
do for him.  I don't really know how old he was as my cousin had found
him in a dumpster and brought him to me.
 
Now I'm in Plano, Tx.  I have Tavi and Skooder still and my boyfriend
bought a new ferret for Skooder to have as a playmate (Smokey) because
Tavi is 7 now and not much interested in ferret romping.  Well, Tavi has
had adrenal for a while now, I'd say about a year and a half.  The first
sign was that she lost all her fur except on her head.  Other then that
she was fine.  Unfortunatly I've been broke for 2 years now, as my
grandmother broke her leg and had some other medical problems along the
way and I had to move in to take care of her instead of working, so I
was begging money from whomever would lend it.  I was unable to pay for
medicine or surgery so we just toughed it out.  About 8 months ago I was
giving her a bath and saw all this black stuff on her tail.  Shock of
all shocks it was her fur growing back in.  It's not a full coat but it
covers her pretty well.
 
My boyfriend is helping me to pay for all the vet bills now so I started
her on the Lupron shots because her vulva is swollen.  She has gone from
pretty good for an old gal to bad in about 2 weeks.  She has been moved
to the travel cage because she can't get up and down the ramp to the
food/water then back down to use the litter box.  She has definatly lost
some weight and her walking is getting worse.  She is eatting and
drinking but not to my satisifaction.  I made everything in the travel
cage low to the ground so she doesnt have to lift her head up very high
as that is something she is having a problem with now.  This evening I
was checking on her and she wanted out so I let her and she could barely
walk and pooped on the floor right away.  A few moments later she gained
her strength and hobbled off to a quiet corner to sleep.  Later, she was
walking around pretty well considering she always wobbles because she is
old.  She had used the litter box 2 times in the cage and pooped in her
corner nap sack once.  Could the Lupron shot have caused her to get
worse?  Also, her left eye sometimes bothers her so she will keep it semi
closed one day then the next it's fine.  The vet thought he saw a scratch
on it and gave me drops for it.  Now it seems like she is blind in that
eye because she is always surprised when you walk up on that side.  I
know she is old, 8 in december, and her time is coming but this sudden
shift boggles me.  Any thoughts?
 
Thanks,
Laura
[Posted in FML issue 4149]