Hi - been a little while since I sent an update on the critters here. OLIVER: This is the 5+ yr old shelter boy with insulinoma, who had a major bladder problem last December. He was drinking over 10oz water daily, and not peeing; turned out to be a low grade infection that did respond to the Baytril. He's doing much better that way. However, he's almost completely incontinent now. Apparently he can't tell when he needs to go, and also can't tell when he's going, and this involves his stools as well as his urine. He'll be trucking across the floor leaving trails behind him... I'm having to scrub his cage twice daily, & am changing his bedding almost as frequently since he often poops in his sleep. He gets wiped down with baby wipes daily, and a warm water soak every couple of days to clean and protect his skin. There's no sign of digestive problems; his stools and urine are normal. We have him on 1.2 ml pediapred BID now, and it is helping some with the ataxia, but I really hesitate to even consider surgery with him. All it would take is once of dragging his sutures through his mess, and we'd have a raging infection to deal with. Otherwise, he's a good-natured, loveable, loving and messy klutz, with a healthy appetite. :-) GAOTH: my personal little girl; 4 yr old, bilateral adrenalectomy, Dx'd with insulinoma last fall. We decided to not put her through a 3rd surgery but to just treat medically & with diet, since she wasn't very strong. She was up to 1ml pred BID and still losing weight, and feeling "wispy" frail when you picked her up. At New Year's I started her on Bob Church's Chicken Gravy in addition to her kibble (50% TF, 50% various mixed hi-pro kibbles in rotation), and after only 1 week her glucose had jumped up 22 points - from 46 to 68, and she had gained weight - from 1.2 lbs, to 1.3 lbs. Gaoth has been on the Gravy for 6 weeks now, and I had her rechecked this morning. Her weight is now up to 1.49 lbs, and her glucose measured at *** 91.3 *** !!! Dr. Klein just gave me this funny look and said, "I think I'm becoming a believer in this Gravy...." We know it's not a cure, by any means, but it's helping Gaoth to feel better and enjoy life, and that's worth a great deal. (It's even worth burning up a blender every couple of months making that blasted recipe LOL) We didn't check Bandit's glucose today (he's also on the Gravy) but he's showing similar improvements in his weight and activity levels. Carla Smith WhyNot? Ferrets www.whynotferrets.com ICQ: 29478475 [Posted in FML issue 2588]