Dear Friends:
First let me say how sad I am to be following Bob C and his messages about
Simon.  It is Monday morning 9 a.m. Toronto time and I can only hope that
Simon's oldest and best friends are now guiding him to the Bridge where his
spirit will soar.
 
On a happier note I wanted to let you all know an update on Ferris.  He was
diagnosed with insulinoma late last year and I have been faithfully using a
nutritional approach to give him a better chance a long and healthy life.
(We know we cannot cure this but hopefully we can provide quality and so far
we are doing ok).
 
Ferris (along with his sister Meeka) gets 1/2 teaspoon of Ferretone with 3
drops of collodial silver every morning.  He is then fed four times a day
(depending on his body needs he will eat everything from 4-5 tablespoons
of the recipe to hardly anything at all).  I just try to make sure I try
as hard as possible to get him to eat.  Sometimes if he is really being a
weasel I let him go to play for a few minutes and then I try again.
 
I use Rick Beveridges weight gain recipe as my base - it is as follows
 
1/4 cup Totally Ferret (grind up in food processor)
1 can AD (5 1/2 oz. can from vet)
1/2 teaspoon debittered brewers yeast
1/4 to 1/2 cup water (Ferris likes his soupy but you have to experiment
with your ferrets preference)
 
I mix this all up in my Cuisinart and put it into the fridge.  I take out
about 3-5 tablespoons at a time and I mix in 1/2 cube of Randy Belairs
woozle goo recipe.  I do not know what she uses but you can contact her at
 
[log in to unmask]
 
I also add 1/4 teaspoon of Timmys Tonic - Gary Holowicki is the creator of
this product and he can be reached at
 
[log in to unmask]
 
and I also add 1/4 teaspoon of Pet Tinic.  This concoction fresh from being
warmed in the microwave is delicious to ferrets and they eat it with very
little trouble.  I feed Ferris off my finger because he eats better this way
and I can monitor what is being consumed.  Yes this is labour intensive and
I am lucky to be able to zoom home at lunch from my job.  There are some
days where I have meetings and cannot get home and Ferris is ok.  He is
strong enough to weather the occassional missing of a feeding but I still
make four feedings that day.  So it would be 7:00 a.m.  and then 5:00 pm,
7:30 p.m.  and 10:00 p.m.
 
This may sound like a lot of work but once you have the Timmys, the Pet
Tinic and the cubes of woozle goo in the freezer it is quick and easy to
whip up the weight gain of Ricky's and you are ready to go.  Ferris is
looking good (touch wood) and is the best weight of his whole life.  We know
we cannot have him with us forever but we are committed to keeping him
strong and healthy and when his time is done he will know he was loved and
that we honoured his place in this family with the best treatment we could
provide.  We will also not hesitate to see our vet if and when this becomes
more than we can handle with nutrition and our vet has been onside and
interested in our progress throughout this time.  We are about to go to the
Muskokas for two weeks holiday (leaving this Friday) and will catch up with
you all in August, until then I wish you all good health, happy hearts and
joyous ferrets.
 
Lynn
[Posted in FML issue 2376]