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Post by pear2apple on Sept 17, 2008 21:12:13 GMT -5
Kiwi has started peeing an pooping in weird places in the cage. I haven't decided if this is worth a vet trip or not. I mean, she's always been spot on in the cage, and now all of a sudden she pees and poops on the floor in front of the litter box! And also, she peed right by her food and water last week. It was weird. I think she did it again today. I'm not sure if its because I clean the litter box once a day, or if something could possibly be wrong.
And now the poop smells funny. Kinda like iron. You know how blood smells? Kinda like that, but its not a dark red color! And I don't think theres any blood in there either. But its really weird, I'm thinking maybe a vet visit next week.
I know for a fact its her because Apple used to sleep on the bottom level of the cage but has since stopped because she peed on the bedding and so I took it away and then she has started to poop down there too. I know Apple wouldn't poop where he sleeps either.
Plus, its super hard to clean up! So maybe thats another reason, I can't get all of it off! But still, this randomly started. What could possibly be wrong?? Any thoughts? I could use some help.
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Post by k10widow on Sept 18, 2008 17:25:19 GMT -5
How old is Kiwi? Some ferrets unlearn how to use the box with age. If there is blood in her poop it would make her poops look black. If you google "ferret poop chart" you will get some interesting results. We use a product called Nature's Miracle to clean up all potty spots. It works great and it's made with animal accidents in mind. Dried ferret poop is almost like cement when it dries. Makes me wonder when they will start selling it at Home Depot.
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Post by cristina on Sept 18, 2008 17:51:24 GMT -5
Honestly that sounds strange to me too, I dont have an explanation for you and I dont know much in this area but honestly I would take her to the vet pretty soon!
All I know is that when I research different ailments in ferrets (because I did a research paper for my senior project in college concerning ferret ailments and diseases), I always come across the symptom "changes in behavior" or "changes in habbits", and what your describing kinda worries me a bit. I'll do some searching on where I've heard that and get back to you but really.....when in doubt (even a little) take her to the vet!.....shes worth it!
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Post by pear2apple on Sept 18, 2008 18:15:39 GMT -5
Kiwi is between 3-4 years old. There is no blood, but they may be eating more Ziwipeak now then before since there is a small diet shift.
I don't think she is forgetting her habits because she still goes in the litter box and also in the out of cage boxes. So this is pretty weird.
I mean this is def a behavior change. I just don't know how serious or what a vet could really do? Or what you actually tell the vet in the first place?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 19, 2008 0:06:46 GMT -5
How long has she been doing this? When did you start the Ziwipeak?
It's possible that she has a bacterial overgrowth, which will show up in fecal check. I vet wil most likely want to do a complete blood workup (CBC) as well.
If shes been like this foe sevral days, you may want to bring her in to the vet. Also, some pedialyte may help as well.
-jennifer
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Post by pear2apple on Sept 19, 2008 6:56:58 GMT -5
She has been doing this about 2 weeks. But the pee/poop just started smelling like this yesterday, its just SO strong!
Fecal sample, and maybe her pee too? How do I get a sample of her pee? What do I save it in? Just a napkin or what?
A whole blood panel for this? Is that really necessary? She's perfect otherwise.
Ziwipeak started officially early this week, otherwise she doesn't really eat that stuff, not that I've seen anyway.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 19, 2008 20:09:46 GMT -5
It seems llke vets have a lot in common with vampire bats - they both like to take blood If your vet finds nothing in the pee or poop, then since she has no other symptoms or issues identified from the physical, then blood work is usually the next step. Has s Kiwi had a recent diet change? Or have the proportions of what she's normally fed changed? Is she stressed out for any reason? I Apple making a big mess in the potty box? )If the potties get dirty in my house, Tonto will poop everywhere and anywhere - even on my head if I'd let him!!! If Kiwi is eating a high protein diet with a high iron content (beef/red meats) , that could explain the iron smell of the poops. If this makes sense with what she's eating, you may want to increase the amount of rabbit to see if you notice a difference. -jennifer
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Post by pear2apple on Sept 19, 2008 23:23:56 GMT -5
Kiwi is on the same diet as Apple. So I assume she is eating the Evo red meat bites, Evo canned meat (venison now), and some NV. I just tried her on the Evo canned the past few days. I just made a mix of the NV and Evo canned to see how that goes. Perhaps that will lighten up the smell. Her poop is also very dark. Her pee is kinda dark also. Its just that strong smell! I guess it could be the high red meat content. We will see after the weekend, but I am saving some poop just in case.
Apple is not messy in the litter box. At least not anymore! 2 poops were solid for the first time since he came to me on Marshalls!! Woot woot!! So canned Evo is staying in the mix. I also bought some canned Wellness, grain free, very similar to Evo but more variety and $0.40 cheaper. So I think I will go with both to help his poops. I'll repost this tomorrow in his diet section.
I'll start cleaning the litter box more to see if that helps. She tends to poop in the corner if I move the litter box too soon and she has to go still. Thats a big pain!
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 20, 2008 0:42:17 GMT -5
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Post by wienercat on Sept 21, 2008 19:13:11 GMT -5
when a human gets a UTI, the urine smells like iron.... i'd take her to the vet ASAP
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Post by pear2apple on Sept 22, 2008 7:14:20 GMT -5
OK, now I think its Apple.
Someone is having really solid poops and someone is having dark brown seedy poops. I need to seperate them tonight to figure it out. But I'm leaning towards Apple now. I heard/saw him poop last night and then I smelled it. So it must be him now. Can boys still get a UTI? Is there anything I can feed him to comfort him until I can get him to the vet?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 22, 2008 9:17:21 GMT -5
Typically with a UTI, the ferret will be backing in and out out the potty boxes a lot because if feels like the bladder is not being emptied. They pee little bits frequently. I've never noticed an iron smell, but that could just be me.
If Apple is racing around looking fo th right pt to "go", backing in, squatting, and then darting off to another corner, then he may be pretty uncomfortable. As far as something to make him feel better goes, make sure he drinks lots of water to - this will help flush bacteria from the bladder so is doesn't just build up and get a lot worse. You cn try a bit of cranberry from suplemen capsule - mi it in the some baby food and ferretone. It's proably bitter, so it may need to be syringe fed. Since Apple is still having issues, you may want to get him tothe ve as soon as possible. Bladder infections can migrated to the kidneys.
-jennifer
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Post by pear2apple on Sept 22, 2008 11:47:29 GMT -5
OK, well Apple's poop smells and I only have seen him poop in front of the litter box once.
Kiwi always poops and pees small amounts at once, however I've seen her hop around looking for a spot to go. Or picking a corner, going a little, and then 20mins later going again.
Should I just take them both in to get checked out? I mean, I was thinking I should take Kiwi anyway because I just found this little tiny sphere on her, its like a dark dot on/attached to her skin, I touched it and she didn't seem to notice. But its stuck to her fur, and deep down by the skin so I know its not dirt. There's no way I can get a photo of it. And near the skin its a bit red.
Oh, and her other spot is totally gone again, looks like nothing was ever there! And I'm buying whipping cream this week to give her because I think she is too thin for this winter. I am not planning on using the heat much because of higher rates, so I'm hoping for a bit more fat on her. I can still feel her rib cage.
Soooo what do you think now?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 24, 2008 8:50:21 GMT -5
Regarding Kiwi...
would bring her in . going small amounts, dark colored urine, hopping in and out of the potty box and strong smelling urine are classic signs of bladder infection
At that tie, you can ask about the sore coming back and have the other spot checked as well.
As far as Apple goes...how are the poops doing??? If he's missed the potty box once or twice, and if his poops look good and he's otherwise doing well, then you may want to leave him home. If his poops still have that weird tissue-like stuff, then I'd have a a vet look at him along with a poop sample.
-jennifer
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Post by pear2apple on Sept 24, 2008 13:20:21 GMT -5
I haven't decided if its Kiwi with the dark colored pee. She does hop around, but that is not new.
I'm going to keep watching her. Using the cranberry extract too.
It was Apple doing the pooping in front of the litter box. Strange because sometimes he sleeps there, so I thought they kept bedding and poop separate?
Anyway, I am still watching them.
And those skin spots on Kiwi are really weird, so I def need to be in for the vet for that!
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