Post by jesslough on Nov 21, 2010 14:04:21 GMT -5
I am posting this, as I feel that it could help other ferrets/ferret owners. This is about my boy Rogue, RIP, whom I welcomed into my home January 16th, 2010 (with his "brother", Renegade), and helped out of this world on May 27th, 2010.
The day Renegade and Rogue came to my house was a happy day, I finally got my wish of a playmate for Rascal. Everything was fine, all checked out. Rascal loved them, they loved him, I let them in his cage with him, instead of separating as I had planned for the first week. As per usual, I made a vet appointment for them to meet the vet and vice versa, and for them to get checked out. Everything seemed well, we noted that Rogue was on the chubby side and could stand to lose a bit of weight, but Renegade was in perfect health.
A week later, everything took a turn for the worse. I noticed that Rogue was just... not acting like a ferret. He much preferred to be picked up and held as opposed to run around. He was ALWAYS lying carpet sharked, or flat out on his back, and when put in a different position, would get restless -- weird behavior for a healthy ferret. So, into the vet we go. Was noted that his spleen was enlarged, but all his tests came back normal. He also shuddered if you ran his fingers down his back cupping him. So we go on meds for the enlarged spleen. I was to call the vet back with a progress report. A week later, I notice he has green poops. So I get him back in to see my vet, who decides he has Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). So, we go on meds for that, on top of the meds for the spleen. At this point, he was on like 4 different meds. All was fine for about a month. Then I realize that he is not eating. Which is weird for him, he is a fatty who loves his food. Back to vet. Not sure what it is this time, but she wants to put him on some meds for something (cannot remember exactly what it was). But to do that, we treat him to make sure he does not have an ulcer first, because if you give Prednisone to a ferret with an ulcer, it will cause the ulcer to perf. SO, I get him home, he is pretty much on meds every 3-4 hours. It was a day and night job, and I could pretty much not go anywhere for long. Then, a week later, the unthinkable happens. I notice that he is gasping for breathe, and just lying there... like he is in pain. Rush him to the vet, where my regular vet is not in, so I have to see another vet. He decides to keep him there overnight, in an oxygen tank. Does tons of tests, Xrays, nothing abnormal shows up, except that enlarged spleen, AND an enlarged liver.
So, recap: As of this point, I have spent nearly $2500 on him, and have only had him for a couple months. Have no answers, other than issues breathing now, an enlarged spleen and enlarged liver.
Take him home the next day, he seems a bit better. A few days later I take him to my regular vet (in the same office) to go over stuff with her, because I trust her. He is still having breathing issues, so we decide to put him on a puffer. He was to get one puff, twice a day. Help make it easier for him to breathe. Works for a while, all is fine for about 2 weeks. Then, I notice he is pooping. ALOT. We are talking 30+ poops a day, and not able to make it to the litter boxes. So he went where he was. And lay in his own poop. Take him to the vet, do some xrays, do a bunch of tests, other than the spleen and liver, and now elevated liver counts, everything is fine. She was to call me with the xray results, so I could get him home. So again, treat for IBS, keep him comfortable. Then she calls, about 2 hours later. There she could see them-- masses. He has masses EVERYWHERE. Inside his stomach, around his lungs, in his colon... everywhere. This explains the breathing issues, any position laying down, the tumors were pressing up against his lungs. Only position he was comfortable? Me holding him up and keeping him vertical. In hindsight, this is where I should have let him go. I should have let him peacefully cross the bridge -- but I could not do that. I had never had a pet euthanized before.
So, I upped his puffer, put him on more meds, to keep him comfortable. He lived to see his 5th birthday, what I wanted. May comes along, with it, the heat. Heat + tumors = no good. One day, I came downstairs, and looked at him.. I knew I could not let him suffer anymore. I call the vet, make an appointment the next week to have him euthanized. I decided I was going to be there with him, and he would pass in my arms, knowing he was a good boy. Along came May 27th. He was booked in on May 31st to be helped across the bridge. I come downstairs, and I look at him, and I know. He was not going to survive another 4 days, he was going to die a painful death this weekend if I did not take him in. So I call my vet, she is all booked up. I tell them that he has an appointment on Monday, but he needs to get in today. My vet tells them to get me to come in, and she will do it on her lunch break. I walked the 15 minutes to the vet with him, crying the whole way there. I knew it was the right thing to do, I knew it was time.. did not make it any easier.
Rogue passed at 11:56am on May 27th, 2010. I only had this sweet, sweet boy for 4 1/2 months, but my god did I love him. It hurt. It still hurts, but I did the best I could for him.
They asked if they could do a necropsy, to help future ferrets. I told them of course, anything that can help another owner from going through what I did. They found that the heat had made a good amount of the tumors burst, they were all cancerous. He was slowly dying a painful death from the poison in his body once they burst.
The day Renegade and Rogue came to my house was a happy day, I finally got my wish of a playmate for Rascal. Everything was fine, all checked out. Rascal loved them, they loved him, I let them in his cage with him, instead of separating as I had planned for the first week. As per usual, I made a vet appointment for them to meet the vet and vice versa, and for them to get checked out. Everything seemed well, we noted that Rogue was on the chubby side and could stand to lose a bit of weight, but Renegade was in perfect health.
A week later, everything took a turn for the worse. I noticed that Rogue was just... not acting like a ferret. He much preferred to be picked up and held as opposed to run around. He was ALWAYS lying carpet sharked, or flat out on his back, and when put in a different position, would get restless -- weird behavior for a healthy ferret. So, into the vet we go. Was noted that his spleen was enlarged, but all his tests came back normal. He also shuddered if you ran his fingers down his back cupping him. So we go on meds for the enlarged spleen. I was to call the vet back with a progress report. A week later, I notice he has green poops. So I get him back in to see my vet, who decides he has Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). So, we go on meds for that, on top of the meds for the spleen. At this point, he was on like 4 different meds. All was fine for about a month. Then I realize that he is not eating. Which is weird for him, he is a fatty who loves his food. Back to vet. Not sure what it is this time, but she wants to put him on some meds for something (cannot remember exactly what it was). But to do that, we treat him to make sure he does not have an ulcer first, because if you give Prednisone to a ferret with an ulcer, it will cause the ulcer to perf. SO, I get him home, he is pretty much on meds every 3-4 hours. It was a day and night job, and I could pretty much not go anywhere for long. Then, a week later, the unthinkable happens. I notice that he is gasping for breathe, and just lying there... like he is in pain. Rush him to the vet, where my regular vet is not in, so I have to see another vet. He decides to keep him there overnight, in an oxygen tank. Does tons of tests, Xrays, nothing abnormal shows up, except that enlarged spleen, AND an enlarged liver.
So, recap: As of this point, I have spent nearly $2500 on him, and have only had him for a couple months. Have no answers, other than issues breathing now, an enlarged spleen and enlarged liver.
Take him home the next day, he seems a bit better. A few days later I take him to my regular vet (in the same office) to go over stuff with her, because I trust her. He is still having breathing issues, so we decide to put him on a puffer. He was to get one puff, twice a day. Help make it easier for him to breathe. Works for a while, all is fine for about 2 weeks. Then, I notice he is pooping. ALOT. We are talking 30+ poops a day, and not able to make it to the litter boxes. So he went where he was. And lay in his own poop. Take him to the vet, do some xrays, do a bunch of tests, other than the spleen and liver, and now elevated liver counts, everything is fine. She was to call me with the xray results, so I could get him home. So again, treat for IBS, keep him comfortable. Then she calls, about 2 hours later. There she could see them-- masses. He has masses EVERYWHERE. Inside his stomach, around his lungs, in his colon... everywhere. This explains the breathing issues, any position laying down, the tumors were pressing up against his lungs. Only position he was comfortable? Me holding him up and keeping him vertical. In hindsight, this is where I should have let him go. I should have let him peacefully cross the bridge -- but I could not do that. I had never had a pet euthanized before.
So, I upped his puffer, put him on more meds, to keep him comfortable. He lived to see his 5th birthday, what I wanted. May comes along, with it, the heat. Heat + tumors = no good. One day, I came downstairs, and looked at him.. I knew I could not let him suffer anymore. I call the vet, make an appointment the next week to have him euthanized. I decided I was going to be there with him, and he would pass in my arms, knowing he was a good boy. Along came May 27th. He was booked in on May 31st to be helped across the bridge. I come downstairs, and I look at him, and I know. He was not going to survive another 4 days, he was going to die a painful death this weekend if I did not take him in. So I call my vet, she is all booked up. I tell them that he has an appointment on Monday, but he needs to get in today. My vet tells them to get me to come in, and she will do it on her lunch break. I walked the 15 minutes to the vet with him, crying the whole way there. I knew it was the right thing to do, I knew it was time.. did not make it any easier.
Rogue passed at 11:56am on May 27th, 2010. I only had this sweet, sweet boy for 4 1/2 months, but my god did I love him. It hurt. It still hurts, but I did the best I could for him.
They asked if they could do a necropsy, to help future ferrets. I told them of course, anything that can help another owner from going through what I did. They found that the heat had made a good amount of the tumors burst, they were all cancerous. He was slowly dying a painful death from the poison in his body once they burst.