We've had a few replies with the same questions so I would like to better explain what is happening with Meltdown, and that Steve will return to us tonight a bit before 7 Eastern, given the usual traffic patterns between here and the airport. (Also, that, yes, we have Thanksgiving guests coming, and no, we can't cancel though we'd like to, because they already bought their tickets.) Meltdown is 8 years and almost 2 months old, a sterling mitt born at Path Valley, and a multiple year survivor of a malignant adrenal and of a spleen that had been so huge it plugged her GI tract. Just shy of 8 months ago she developed cardiomyopathy with many ventricular bigeminis (doubled beats) and sometimes sometime trigeminis (triple beats of that chamber) in each monitored minute. She should not have lived through her first severe bout, but she did. Then a mad scramble was on for treating this in ferrets. Eventually, over 50 people were involved in the searching, including her being brought up as a topic of conversation at a human cardiology convention (which was conveniently timed) in case anyone had seen it in a test animal. No one had seen or treated it in a ferret, but some people, such as Karen Rosenthal and Debbie Kemmerer had used propranolol and the combination of that and Enacard looked to be our best bet. Well, that helped a very great deal, but it did not totally stop the multiple beats. Then Bruce Williams suggested that we try using Lanoxin (dig) with Enacard. It stopped the multiple beats until now. He is Meltdown's miracle man for suggesting the method, and Hanan Caine (our vet) is her miracle man for staying so on top of her needs, and sometimes even just doing spontaneous check-ups without charge, and being there by phone sometimes several times a day during the worst times. Too many people here helped for us to name them all, but you know who you are, don't you, Michael, Dick, Bill, Troy-Lynn, Pam, etc., etc. One list member devoted a huge amount of time to Meltdown's information searches (and also to the diet information search which we needed at the same time for Ruffle's pre-cardiomyopathic heart disease and which her recommendation for that: Tom Willard of Totally Ferret, provided for free): Roxanne. Georgia made her an afghan to keep her warm when she was at the point where fake fur was too warm, but terry was too heavy. She can't pull through. Her cardiomyopathy has progressed to the point where the meds no longer stop all dangerous arrhythmias. What we hope for are these things: that she'll make it long enough to see Steve tonight when he gats back from Montana, that she'll have as long as she can possibly have without developing congestive heart failure (She already has some controllable ascites.), and that she'll go from the arrythmias because that is painless -- she'll just become unconcious like she did the other day and then not wake up. Hanan says there are two patterns commonly seen: the critter goes downhill very fast and leaves, or there are rallies between (which is hwat she doing now) and then the second, third or whatever time she passes on. She has wanted to try to play twice today and that's aproblem. Getting her frustrated can set off a bout, but so can activity. I feel like I'm on a tight rope. She's worth it. What can I say? Meltdown is wonderful. Sukie [Posted in FML issue 1764]