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Post by Alliemegan on Feb 1, 2009 10:38:55 GMT -5
Mr. Tassy defintely seems happier now that I'd shelved the gizzard experiment. He ate much better last night and this morning. His poops had been kinda runny in the last couple of days. We're trying the extra pumkin trick again. If that doesn't work, I got the slippery elm ready this time! Poley is actually doing well despite his Lupron wearing off. No upset tummy this time, just being a bit of a pain to his brothers . This guy is putting on the pounds with all the good chicken and cream. He's bigger than some chihuahuas I'd seen! Glad to hear your guys get to play in the snow for a bit! They're really facinated by the cold, white stuff. I'd saved them a big bucket off clean snow on the porch, we're going to play in the bathtub this afternoon... maybe I'll hide some gizzard in there for them to find.... NOT! Seems to be a lovely day to hang out by the water! I would love to see the pics of your beautiful babies modeling for the calendar. Stay warm! talk to you soon!
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Post by Heather on Feb 1, 2009 17:56:43 GMT -5
I saw your post in the health section, I hope you find some answers about the deslorin implants. They seem to use them a lot in Europe but we seem to rely more on the lupron over here. It's too bad that you have to make an application to use it. I was busy poking Aremis today and telling him he was getting fat too It's good to see the sickies at least maintain weight. It's one of the bonus' that I've seen with this diet. I hope that Mr Tassy's poopies start to firm up now that he's back to eating with more enthusiasm. What meats do these little furbrats eat now??? Today, would have been a wonderful day to do a photo shoot...yesterday, however was not Blizzard conditions, we did the shoot (standing up to our knees in snow ) It didn't take very long before I was frozen and my Irish wolfhound puppy looked like a mobile snowbank (at least he was happy) So, we will be rescheduled for another shoot. The photographer really like him, so that's a benefit. I'm just hoping the photographer picks spring or maybe even summer for his next shoot ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Feb 3, 2009 23:44:40 GMT -5
Oh man.. the boys are stressing me out! Suddenly they all decided that they don't want to eat chicken anymore! I'm suddenly back to running after 4 ferrets with a spoon trying to get them to eat their chicken!!! What's going on guys?? We're on the same drumstick+liver+hearts+pumpkin diet but suddenly they don't like it anymore. I'd been late for work because of them refusing to eat. Thank goodness my boss has a 3 yr old and a newborn. He understands my pain! We're dropping off Merry for his teeth cleaning and prepuce surgery tomorrow morning. I'm rather worry about how much he's going to backslide on his diet. I'm sending him with his chicken soupy and leaving detailed instructions on how NOT to overcook his soupy (the vet techs are going to think that's I'm some pyscho mom ) Hopefully he can come home on the same day and not have to stay overnight. Poley is going to get his lupron injection in the afternoon. I'm going to push for the deslorelin implant... I'm so glad to hear that Aremis is putting on some weight. That little guy is so tough! Give that fat little tummy a tickle for me! You have an Irish wolfhound puppy? I'm oh-so jealous! I wish I had the space for a massive dog like that. They are just magnificient creatures... Talk to you soon! Wish us luck!
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Post by Heather on Feb 4, 2009 0:28:15 GMT -5
I hate to say it but the more stressed you get the more your little furbrats are going to act out. You're presently very stressed (whether you're aware of it or not) Mr Poley's lupron isn't working right, Merry's going in for surgery, you're having problems looking for a house....they feel your stress and no I don't have any advice regarding pulling down your stress levels but to be aware that your stress is going to directly affect your business . Ok, are they maintaining weight? Is your recipe exactly the same? A little drier maybe? My guys are angry with me because I used turkey hearts instead of chicken hearts and there's no liver in this mix. They're also starting to put on their summer coats and are loosing weight...they're better than those fat little ground hogs anyday The seasonal change is causing them to back off on the amounts that they normally eat. Do your guys have kibble available or have you taken them off the kibble all together? Backsliding is always a risk, but it seems to me that they may be feeling some of your stress and tension. Are they refusing all together or are they just eating a whole lot less? I will light a healing candle for Merry, and one for Mr Poley. May their procedures go well and everyone bounces back and decides that their raw soupies are good to eat. I will check in with you tomorrow. Please fill me in on whether they allowed you the deslorin implants and how Merry did with his teeth cleaning. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Feb 5, 2009 23:54:56 GMT -5
Merry came out of his surgery with flying colours! His mast cell tumors turn out to be pretty big. His teeth are not i the greatest shape and he got some receding gums. But his breath is so much better! He stayed at the vet overnight and he was SO happy to be home! He started dooking up and down the hallway as soon as we let him out of the carrier. Poley got his monthly Lupron shot and our vet is going to get the ball rolling to bring the deslorelin implant in, don't know how much it's going to be or how long it's going to take. But will let you know as soon as i hear something. Usually when we bring the furbrats to the vet, we leave them running on the ground while we chat with the vet. And they invariably leave a deposit on the ground for us to pick up. This time we broke the habit and didn't let Poley off the table... and there's always hell to pay when you break their habits. Poley really did the best he could to hold it in but when you gotta go, you gotta go. He had the biggest runny poo in the carrier... in the car! thank goodness we weren't too far from the vet so we turned back to clean him up. I think I'll have to start bringing a ferret travel kit in the car.... Thanks for reminding me that animals are ultra-perceptive and my stress can directly affect them... it's too easier to just think that they're being bratty and forget the fact that they're probably stressed out by me too. I'd probably been short with the guys i the patience department. And seeing how happy Merry was today when we got him home just really remind me how important these babies are too me. I don't think the guys are losing weight yet, they're just eating less. Gadget's seasons are a little messed up. His thick fluffy winter coat just came in in the last few weeks and he's still eating a ton. Tassy and Poley are being fuzzy and needed spoon feeding. We just need to get up a bit earlier inthe morning to get the spoon feeding in until they're convinced that eating by themselves is the big-boy thing to do can't wait to spend the weekend with the boys! talk toyou soon!
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Post by Heather on Feb 6, 2009 0:49:20 GMT -5
I'm so glad that Merry's surgery went well. I'm sorry that the tumour turned out larger than anticipated, but there appeared to be no complications and he's happy to be home again. Wonderful Are you on the ferrethealth list, actually I believe someone posted a link to the conversation that's been going on regarding lupron, weights, dosages and even "where" being a parameter in getting this drug to work and the dosages needed. My little Nicodemus has a screwed up season too. He was in the process of shedding his beautiful thick coat just before Christmas, poor sod considering how warm it's been this winter . My business is suffering from a virus that my darling son brought home to them. The sneezing and coughing is horrible poor little things. Napoleon embarassed himself by sneezing himself poofy tailed and Odin and Thor (my only scented ferts) actually poofed themselves during a sneezing fit. If it wasn't so serious it would be amusing as they have a tendency to either propel themselves backwards with every sneeze or sneeze themselves up into the air (all 4 feet actually leave the ground). Half of my furbrats have this virus, I'm deperately hoping that it doesn't progress beyond an upper respiratory infection. I hope that Tassy and Mr Poley soon get over their fussy eating habits. Maybe, now that Poley has had his lupron, he will feel better and maybe more inclined to eat on his own. My little Calypso feels that the only way to eat anything is to have me feed her. She loves her dinner and appears to be putting on weight but she actually will come and find me so that I will hold her while she eats. I don't even have to feed her, she only needs to sit on my lap. She then sits with her paws on the edge of the table and eats her dinner. Go figure. Each ferret is so different. I hope your guys soon go back to eating on their own, so that you don't have to fuss to much before going to work. That in itself is very stressful. Please enjoy your weekend and your furbabies. Give everone a great big hug from me, and relax Talk at you soon, good luck:) ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Feb 9, 2009 8:36:14 GMT -5
Oh no... I'm so sorry to hear that your business is under the weather! The poor little sickies! I really hope they get better soon and things don't get worse from here. It looks like Tassy might also be getting a bit of a cold from hubby and me. He's the most snuggly of the furbrats and a lot of times we pick him up for a cuddle without thinking. That probably explain his poor appetite.... sorry babes! I'd been following the thread on FHL regarding Lupron. It means a few things for Mr. Poley: 1. He probably needs a higher dose, which I'd mentioned to our vet. But he thinks the costs will become prohibitive. 2. He has adrenal carcinoma, which as far as I was told by our vet, doesn't metatesize (sp?) 3. Hope that deslorelin will work better than lupron, which I really do considering all the raving reviews I'd read from Europe. Nobody really have the answer as to what to do. All we can do is take it one step at a time... It'd been warmer this weekend and we really noticed the difference in energy levels between Tassy, Gadget and the 2 sickies. wish there was more I could do to make things better. Have a good monday morning! Will check in with you a little later!
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Post by Heather on Feb 9, 2009 11:44:28 GMT -5
The business' cold appears to be getting better. I can't believe I went through a whole bottle of vibactra treating them but I wouldn't be without it. Napoleon, Ghenghis and Captain Jack are the ones who are still suffering with the horrible sneezer fits It's so strong that it makes them bounce backwards and go poofy tail. Rather funny to watch really but horrible because you realize it really makes them feel horrible Watching sick furbabies is sometimes the most difficult thing to do. Remembering what it was like before they got sick, how vibrant and alive. Sometimes comfort is all we can offer. I've been there more times than I care to think about. I think they take it better than we do, they live for the minute. So a bounce, a hug, a chuckle for them makes all the living worth while. They don't worry about past and how things were, nor what's going to happen later, only now matters. That's why the time that we spend with them is so important to them. You take awesome care of your guys, and you go over an above. You are....a fantastic ferrant and your guys love you dearly for it. How are your guys doing food wise? I've got a few people complaining that their guys are backing off their food. I'm thinking mine are too, but it's hard to tell with this virus. Spring is coming....it can't come soon enough I will check in with you later tonight. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Feb 11, 2009 1:54:44 GMT -5
yeah, I think the boys are starting to back off from their food too. It's been taking a lot of persuading in the last couple of days to get them to eat... except Gadget. He's still a greedy little piggy! Can really complain too much when he's the only one finishing his bowl by himself. With the house set to 22 degrees, I don't know if they realize it's warm outside. Though we let them have a whiff of outside air for their morning runs through the crack of the window (we have crappy screens on the windows and the kids can jump from the back of the couch to the windows... don't want them busting out of the house thru the screen!) their little bodies are probably adjusting to spring.... Glad the hear your guys are getting better! Must be really exhausting for you, taking care of a houseful of snot-nosed furbrats! Hope your son is feeling better as well! Tassy had definitely been sneezing but thank goodness it's just one or two here and there.... no hilarious sneezing fits with this guy. But his runny poop situation is coming back. We'd been babying him, giving him looser, warm soupy (the way he prefers it) but extra pumpkin is called for. I totally agree with what you said, ferrets live in the here and now. That's actually a great attitude towards life. That's what make these furbabies so special. I'm just thankful that my life cross path with these wonderful creatures... and there will never be enough time in the world with them. I just have to love them up when I have the chance. The weather is nice but it's still too wet and sloppy on the ground to let the kids outside. Are you opening up the outdoor enclosure for the kids yet? I'm sure they'd love to track mud all over your living room! Enjoy the warm but soggy weather. Will check in with you soon!
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Post by Alliemegan on Feb 14, 2009 14:44:57 GMT -5
Aaahh... the long weekend! How are your furkids? Are they over the virus yet? Hope they're feeling better and can take advantage of the nice warm weather, play outside a little. The boys are still being little fuzzy eaters this week, but they're noticeably more active. In the morning, we used to have to wake them up for breakfast. These days they're up and about and scratching to get out of the cage. They're all too distracted to eat, only finish half a bowl before they want out again. So we have to do a 2 breakfast routine: quick bite, pred for Merry, play, second breakfast. Surely add to the morning rush but we want to get as much chicken into them as possible so they get too hungry during the day (there're kibbles in the cage, in case Merry needs a pick-me-up during the day... the little guy wouldn't eat cold chicken I leave in the cage) Gotta run, will check in a little later. Happy Valentine's!
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Post by Heather on Feb 14, 2009 17:05:11 GMT -5
Grrr I sent you a message the other day to respond to yours and it didn't go through. Ack!!! All the furbabies are up and about and the worst of the cold/flu is over. Captain Jack is still sneezing a bit but for the most part everyone is doing well. The brats all got to go out and play in the snow the other day and a good time was had by all. There was much tunneling, dooking and throwing each other in the snowbanks and little furbrats ate and slept well that night Ahhhh, you truly have hobbits.....1st breakfast, 2nd breakfast, elevensies.... How's Tassy doing? Better? Could the loose poopies be part of the virus that was picked up? If your guys are more active maybe they all had a touch of something?!! It's going around Have you had any luck with them eating anything other than chicken?? What meats have you tried so far? If they're still not eating well, maybe we should try and break them into another protein. As they're very comfortable with the chicken maybe you will have to try the old....finger, to spoon, to bowl thing. It shouldn't take them as long as it's just a matter of getting used to different flavours. Captain Jack and Calypso are both eating whole meats (well they're chewing on them and dragging them around ) I'm going to give them a crack at some mice this weekend (if we get all the painting done ....house painting is so much fun....NOT ) It is truly an adventure when you have 16 fuzzies running around. There are a few with spots now Thank you for the valentine. I hope you are enjoying your valentine's day...have a good one. Take care and I will check in with you later. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Feb 16, 2009 0:11:35 GMT -5
Oh but house paint IS fun! I just don't need the kids getting high on paint fumes... they're hyper enough as it is Glad to hear the business had gotten over the virus. Tassy is still sneezing a little and being a fuzzy eater on and off. Both him and Merry are backsliding a little on the texture front - they lose interest in their food within 3 seconds unless we make things like and loose, like cottage cheese. We're trying to work them back up to eating thicker fare when we're home this weekend... The boys all seem to have a preference to chicken. Since we started the switch we'd tried beef, pork, rabbit, turkey and lamb. Gadget is a big fan of rabbit but he's the exception. They not to crazy about the other meats. But since then we'd learned that it might not be the meat itself, but the texture of the soupy we serve... Thanks for bringing that up again, we really should look into introducing variety again. We're bring our cat D'Artagnan to the vet next week. It's his turn for teeth cleaning. I'm pretty nervous with getting him to the vet coz he really doesn't do well outside of the house. He'd pee himself whenever we break out the carrier. And this time we have to take him twice (need to get blood work done a couple of days before we put him under). I picked up some Rescue Remedy today. How do I get him to take it? Slip it into his water? Just squirt it into his mouth? How much should I give him? Maybe I should take some too myself.... Hope the mice experiment turns out well with Jack Jack and Calypso! Check in with you soon!
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Post by Heather on Feb 16, 2009 0:49:20 GMT -5
Just add about 10 drops of rescue remedy to his water. You can also rub a tiny bit on the inside of his ears, I don't really look at the science of it, it does work. You can do this just before you leave, you can also use a dropper to administer if he's ameanable. Most cats are not very cooperative. Samurai pees himself everytime we take him to the vet, which is why I think he's been to the vet about 2x in the last 10 yrs. He's 20 or so, I try not to stress him too much. I will light a healing candle for D'artangnan, I'm sure he will be ok. Ohh, you can take it yourself, about 10 drops straight up I sometimes think that texture has as much to do with why food is refused as flavour. Perhaps, trying to make the soupies the same consitency for a little bit and then moving forward with thickening it a little bit at a time. Pork has a similar texture and a mild flavour. That might be worth your time to try a switch toward that meat. Trying for 3 types of meat is the safest with a possibility of even more. This covers more nutrient levels. The more natural nutrient levels you cover the less supplements you have to rely on. I will check in with you tomorrow. Let me know how D'artangnan makes out at the vets. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Feb 17, 2009 22:24:24 GMT -5
Thanks for telling me about Rescue remedy! It makes such a huge difference when I gave D'Artagnan some this morning, half an hour before we got in the car. He still objected when we stuck him in the carrier but he didn't pee himself this time!! He was pretty calm in the car (only meowed occassionally) and he was okay even in the waiting room with all the dogs around. Must be the brandy in the preparation but seriously, I'm really impressed. Unfortunately, looks like we might be too late in taking D'Arty in for dental. There's a tooth with really bad tartar and there might be a cavity underneath the crud... he might lose that tooth if there was. <Sigh> Our vet is contacting Dr. Wagner in the US who's doing a study on the deslorelin implant and see if we can get Poley in to the study too. That's about the only way we can get the implant into Canada... hope Poley can get in coz Lupron is doing diddly squat for him. It's only been 2.5 weeks and he's showing symptoms agian. What upset me the most is his gassy loose poopies. I feel so bad for the big guy. He's just so happy-go-lucky even I'm sure he's feeling crappy.... thank goodness he likes extra pumpkin in his cream. Let's see if that's going to sooth his tummy. Got some looming deadlines at work so I'm pretty stressed out... did I mention I tried the Rescue remedy on myself too last night? calmed my panic attack and lulled me back to sleep! That's stuff is amazing! Thanks again for telling me about it! <hug> Will check in with you soon!
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Post by Heather on Feb 18, 2009 1:14:19 GMT -5
I"m glad it worked on both of you I'm sorry that D'Artangan is going to loose that tooth but at least you caught it. By having it pulled it will probably add extra years onto his life. I'm sorry that Mr. Poley isn't feeling any better with his lupron. I will keep my fingers crossed that he's accepted into the deslorin program. Skullcap also works for a good nights sleep when feeling undo stress. I find that it works better than valarian root, which seems to give way to some really weird dreams/nightmares. I hope that you're feeling less stressed soon. Good luck. I will talk to you again soon. ciao
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