I'm beginning to believe that when it rains, it pours....so far, that damn
cloud has been here for a couple of weeks. <sigh>
 
Emily is our houseferret - and she takes her responsibility very
seriously -- while out on 'patrol', she diligently searches out such sordid
characters as bed bugs, dust bunnies and other nefarious creatures while
keeping her humans safe.  If you aren't sleeping deeply, you will hear her
get off the bed (she usually sleeps under the covers, next to my feet),
walk the condo, use the litterpan and then come back to bed.  *Especially*
if I have the heating pad on...anyway - I got up to get some water about
11:30pm - and sure enough, here is my escort, following me into the
kitchen.  Stands on my feet while I get my drink, gets a lick or two of
cold water, turns and waits for me to follow her back to the bedroom.
 
I get in, and watch her climb up (never make the mistake of picking her up
and putting her there -- she's so independent, she will jump down and then
climb up), snuggle under the blanket and off to sleep she goes.
 
About 10 minutes later, I hear panting - fast and labored.  Its Miss Em.  I
retrieve her and find that she is flat-ferret, breathing heavily and
drooling.  Oh, damn.  By the time I get into the kitchen, shes completely
unresponsive - no gag reflex, touching her eye does nothing, and her jaws
are locked.  I start rubbing karo syrup on her gums -- and then I wait.
Two minutes, five minutes -- did I see her swallow?  No, but she's trying.
Wait some more - ten minutes and she's definitely swallowing.  By this
time, the pred tablet is melted and I have a syringe of karo mixed.  I give
both very carefully and is gratified to see that she is swallowing - but
still doing the thousand yard stare.  It took more than 30 minutes before
she truly came out of the seizure - she scared the heck out of my with her
rythmic twitching - and it was a doozy, for sure.
 
She's already been and come back from the vet - her BG this morning was 52.
The usual course of medication has been prescribed.  <sigh>
 
But Emily has already beaten the odds - she was already supposed to be
dead - she was released to me in September 1998 instead of being
euthanized, because her owner couldn't handle the ups/downs of her
gastrointestinal problems and thought she was in pain.  I convinced her
that I would never allow Miss Em any pain, and that I could make her well.
Adrenal surgery that November showed not only bilateral, but that she had
three small hairballs in her tummy.
 
She's hanging in there -- and will be seven in November...when she goes, I
will miss my little houseferret very much.
 
Lisa Leidig, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
http: www.ferrethaven.org
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[Posted in FML issue 3048]