I am almost ready to give up.  I am having a problem with Rose.  She is a
5 1/2 year old female and here is the background on her which could all
be relevant:
 
Rose is part of a group of 8 I had for at least 4 1/2 years.  The group
of 8 was a very loving group and they were all housed together in a very
large cage in great harmony .  Only 2 remain from that group, Loopy and
Rose.  I moved Loopy to her own cage when Rose got sick and also showed
aggression to Loopy The other 6 have died in the course of 13 months from
an assortment of ferret maladies.  Vada was the last to die on October 3
(died under anesthesia for dental October 3)  Three weeks before that
Bootsie died from cardiomyapathy and lymphosarcoma.  Bootsie was Rose's
sister.  Rose has adrenal disease and went through a lupron series late
summer.  Her problem started with diarrhea and I took her to the vet.
After two vet visits and a fecal check and 2 courses of amoxicillin she
didnt seem to be getting any better.  She stopped eating her dry food
(Iams kitten) so I started her on a gruel mixture.  Ground up dry food,
ensure, baby food, some pedialite warmed in the microwave.  I have
changed it around to see what she would eat better and now am feeding
baby food and heavy cream which she readily ate for a while.  The
consistency of her poops has improved considering what she is eating--she
is basically eating a liquid diet and her poops are the consistency of
soft serve (sorry for being so graphic but the vet assistant told me to
exactly describe what her poop looked like) Now she is balking at the
baby food and cream and only eating a few licks.  I should also say she
eats it only from a spoon, not a bowl in her cage and only from me and
not any other family members.  I don't know how to get her to eat.
Before all this she was very spunky, bossy and lively.  My long term goal
would be to get her healthy enough to have adrenal surgery but at this
point I just want to get her back to being herself.  I don't know if she
has given up or what.  I have brought 3 ferrets to our household and that
could be a stressor as well but I have them all in separate cages.
 
Any suggestions?  I will be making another vet appointment tomorrow but
I think those of us in the trenches with the fuzzies have a wealth of
knowledge that only comes with day to day living.  Would giving fluids
make her feel well enough to want to eat better?  Is there something that
will stimulate her to eat?
 
If this was/is ECE is 6 weeks long enough for it to run its course?  Do
ferrets on "gruel" ever return to eating dry food?
 
Sorry for all the rambling I dont want to leave out anything that might
be important out.  Thanks.
 
Rita
[Posted in FML issue 4335]