Post by tommy on May 29, 2010 11:44:54 GMT -5
I am based in London, UK and would like some advice about a ferret I found. I have been posting in the chatbox below and carnivorouszoo has been kindly replying to my messages but I thought I should register properly and seek some advice.
19 May, Wed: My husband was out jogging in the evening and he saw a ferret crawling along the pavement. Only with front paws, back legs dragging along. It looked like it wanted to go into one of the houses' gardens so he lifted it up the step. He came home to fetch me and we went out with a box and cloth to the place where he left her. She was hiding behind some bins and I picked her up. No struggle, no flinching, she was very calm. We took her in the box to our friend's house and she fell asleep. Tried to feed her premium cat food but she ate very little. Drank a bit of water. We got home and it must be around midnight by then. I cooked her a boiled egg and gave her 1/4 of it. She enthusiastically ate it all up and went back to sleep. I left another 1/4 out just in case she gets hungry and she woke up again and ate it all up.
20 May, Thursday: Fed her with the remaining egg (all i have at home suitable for ferrets), took her in a basket to run some errands before an appointment with an animal hospital near my home. She mostly slept and woke up for a little bit. At the hospital, the vet physically examined her before suspected spinal injury and suggested she be put down since she was a stray. If I was willing to bear her medical fees, they'd check her in for the night and x-ray her the next day.
21 May, Fri: Call from another vet at same hospital to say she think the ferret looks miserable and should be put down. I insisted an x-ray be done. Turned out that she has "pelvic trauma" (a wider than usual gap in between pelvic bone and spinal bit, no cracks) and the vet thinks now to give her more time. They have been feeding her chicken. She hasn't been able to urinate properly and needs nurses to express her bladder. Though while I was visiting she left a wet trail on the table, it looks like she can only urinate a little by herself and not enough to clear her bladder.
22 May, Sat: I tried to check her out as I'm not feeling especially confident of the hospital but the hospital was difficult about it and insisted she needs medical care.
23 May, Sun: Doing well, happy, eating, more responses in back legs but still not urinating. I have also asked them to do a blood test to make sure she does not have insulinoma.
24 May, Mon: Vet says no insulinoma. I visited again and the report is more responses in back legs, happy, calm, eating, passed urine once by herself but still needs expressing.
25 May, Tue: Visited again and saw the first vet I met last week. He stressed that putting down is still what he recommends if she doesn't start walking at some point. Vet thinks she is quite young. I asked if she has any other conditions than pelvic trauma and he said no. I asked if she has been spayed and he said not sure. I asked if she is in season because I noticed her swollen vulva last week but wasn't sure if it was the normal thing for ferrets or not. He then checked her gums and said she's not anaemic. I left but called in an hour as I was nervous. He said she is in season and he could give her injections but he rather not and will try to induce her body to believe she has mated. I figured this meant a vasectomised hob or some form of physical intrusion and a ferret rescue lady I consulted recommends injections too.
26 May, Wed: I was nervous and concerned and went to the hospital in the morning. Couldn't see the vet but nurse said the ferret has been given the jab. I was planning to check her out to see a specialist. I left her and vet called to say she has been given an injection to take her out of season. He said not much improvement on her back legs today and he still thinks it should be put down if she doesn't recover. We agreed to give her a few more days to check her progress. Other than that, she always looks contented and has been eating well. She has also passed urine once by herself.
27 May, Fri: Update over phone: happy, still needs bladder expressing, no walking but back legs "responsive". Said a specialist vet will look at her but I didn't get to speak to this vet.
28 May, Sat: Visited ferret but didn't get to speak to vet. I didn't like what they were feeding her: dry food in bowl, some cat biscuits... She looks pretty much the same to me. Her vulva is still a bit swollen after the injection, nurse says a week or so to see results. Message from vet was "she's progressing".
So I would like some advice about what to do next:
- any other thoughts about her conditions/other conditions that possibly have not been diagnosed?
- is her current condition something she can recover from?
- will I be able to care for her at home? I don't mind her not being able to walk but expressing bladder is an issue. Is this something that's easy to do with training from the nurses?
- how long should I wait if I keep her in the hospital? I don't feel like it's right to put her down at the moment because she is still eating and seems generally calm and happy.
19 May, Wed: My husband was out jogging in the evening and he saw a ferret crawling along the pavement. Only with front paws, back legs dragging along. It looked like it wanted to go into one of the houses' gardens so he lifted it up the step. He came home to fetch me and we went out with a box and cloth to the place where he left her. She was hiding behind some bins and I picked her up. No struggle, no flinching, she was very calm. We took her in the box to our friend's house and she fell asleep. Tried to feed her premium cat food but she ate very little. Drank a bit of water. We got home and it must be around midnight by then. I cooked her a boiled egg and gave her 1/4 of it. She enthusiastically ate it all up and went back to sleep. I left another 1/4 out just in case she gets hungry and she woke up again and ate it all up.
20 May, Thursday: Fed her with the remaining egg (all i have at home suitable for ferrets), took her in a basket to run some errands before an appointment with an animal hospital near my home. She mostly slept and woke up for a little bit. At the hospital, the vet physically examined her before suspected spinal injury and suggested she be put down since she was a stray. If I was willing to bear her medical fees, they'd check her in for the night and x-ray her the next day.
21 May, Fri: Call from another vet at same hospital to say she think the ferret looks miserable and should be put down. I insisted an x-ray be done. Turned out that she has "pelvic trauma" (a wider than usual gap in between pelvic bone and spinal bit, no cracks) and the vet thinks now to give her more time. They have been feeding her chicken. She hasn't been able to urinate properly and needs nurses to express her bladder. Though while I was visiting she left a wet trail on the table, it looks like she can only urinate a little by herself and not enough to clear her bladder.
22 May, Sat: I tried to check her out as I'm not feeling especially confident of the hospital but the hospital was difficult about it and insisted she needs medical care.
23 May, Sun: Doing well, happy, eating, more responses in back legs but still not urinating. I have also asked them to do a blood test to make sure she does not have insulinoma.
24 May, Mon: Vet says no insulinoma. I visited again and the report is more responses in back legs, happy, calm, eating, passed urine once by herself but still needs expressing.
25 May, Tue: Visited again and saw the first vet I met last week. He stressed that putting down is still what he recommends if she doesn't start walking at some point. Vet thinks she is quite young. I asked if she has any other conditions than pelvic trauma and he said no. I asked if she has been spayed and he said not sure. I asked if she is in season because I noticed her swollen vulva last week but wasn't sure if it was the normal thing for ferrets or not. He then checked her gums and said she's not anaemic. I left but called in an hour as I was nervous. He said she is in season and he could give her injections but he rather not and will try to induce her body to believe she has mated. I figured this meant a vasectomised hob or some form of physical intrusion and a ferret rescue lady I consulted recommends injections too.
26 May, Wed: I was nervous and concerned and went to the hospital in the morning. Couldn't see the vet but nurse said the ferret has been given the jab. I was planning to check her out to see a specialist. I left her and vet called to say she has been given an injection to take her out of season. He said not much improvement on her back legs today and he still thinks it should be put down if she doesn't recover. We agreed to give her a few more days to check her progress. Other than that, she always looks contented and has been eating well. She has also passed urine once by herself.
27 May, Fri: Update over phone: happy, still needs bladder expressing, no walking but back legs "responsive". Said a specialist vet will look at her but I didn't get to speak to this vet.
28 May, Sat: Visited ferret but didn't get to speak to vet. I didn't like what they were feeding her: dry food in bowl, some cat biscuits... She looks pretty much the same to me. Her vulva is still a bit swollen after the injection, nurse says a week or so to see results. Message from vet was "she's progressing".
So I would like some advice about what to do next:
- any other thoughts about her conditions/other conditions that possibly have not been diagnosed?
- is her current condition something she can recover from?
- will I be able to care for her at home? I don't mind her not being able to walk but expressing bladder is an issue. Is this something that's easy to do with training from the nurses?
- how long should I wait if I keep her in the hospital? I don't feel like it's right to put her down at the moment because she is still eating and seems generally calm and happy.