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Post by Heather on Jul 10, 2009 23:20:04 GMT -5
Oh please get Oatmeal to a vet asap....blockages are usually fatal if they're left untreated I will light a healing candle for him....please let me know if he's ok. That is fantastic news about Keller and Skit Keep at it, patience and persistence thats what it's all about with trying to get ferrets onto a healthier diet. Good luck and please keep me updated about Oatmeal, I"ve got rather fond of the stubborn little sod . ciao
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Post by faunafreak on Jul 11, 2009 9:02:36 GMT -5
Skye took Oatmeal in yesterday morning, and they kept him overnight. Apparently there's a lot more than just a blockage. Dr. K told Skye that it appeared to be a chronic issue, not something that he got into (which is what we thought was happening). His heart is enlarged, he has kidney failure, and the barium she gave him never left his stomach. When she palpated him, she said his intestines felt matted. She said that it would be difficult to treat any one of the problems because of the complications from everything else, but she started with flushing his system to get rid of the poisons. She doesn't want to do exploratory surgery because he's so weak. One of the possible causes (she wasn't certain when Skye spoke with her yesterday) is an intestinal tumor that ruptured. The prognosis is not good. I'm about to call to see how he is. Thank you for the candle.
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Post by Heather on Jul 11, 2009 12:51:16 GMT -5
Ohh poor Oatmeal. How horrible, but I wondered when you mentioned the lumps near his anus That sounded like the horrible "C" word but I hate bringing it up without vet verification. Even blockages have hope, cancer and tumours are so.....final. I hope that your vet can find something. His healing candle is still lit. This could be why he was so difficult to get to eat things. Good luck, please know that I'm thinking of you and hoping for the best. ciao
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Post by faunafreak on Jul 11, 2009 17:39:00 GMT -5
Thank you so much. Unfortunately, you were correct in your suspicions. Oatmeal went to the Bridge around 12:30 this afternoon. Dr. Noonan did an autopsy for us, and found - literally - hundreds of tiny tumors in Oatmeal's abdomen. He said it was like a web or something. Skye said the vet called it metic or metaphysic cancer. One of them had ruptured. We were told that there was nothing anyone could have done to help him, nor any way to diagnose the cancer until something like this had happened. Our poor baby - why do they have to be so good at hiding problems like this?
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Post by Heather on Jul 11, 2009 20:54:32 GMT -5
I wish there were words to offer some comfort but I do know what you mean about hiding these things. I couldn't believe what I was seeing 2 weeks ago when I walked into the ferret room to find my beautiful Attila dead. He had been playing and having fun not 4 hrs before. Judging from his body, he had to have passed on not an hour after I left. The best we can ask I suppose is a minimum of suffering. I don't think Attila suffered much, he looked like he was sleeping, even his eyes were closed (an uncommon phenomena in ferret deaths, same as humans) Your little one enjoyed life right until the end, and with all hopes that he only had pain for the short time after the tumour ruptured, maybe not even then as sometimes these things aren't necessarily painful just confusing. A candle is lit and it burns brightly in the night, and tonight a new star is born...an Oatmeal star. May your grief soon be tempered with happy memories as I'm sure these little ones wouldn't have us grieve for them. They are such happy little souls. Good luck, I will talk at you soon ciao
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Post by faunafreak on Jul 11, 2009 22:18:20 GMT -5
Thank you. I'll talk with you soon about the others' progress
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Post by faunafreak on Jul 14, 2009 22:42:35 GMT -5
Well, the others seem to be doing all right. I'm cutting up bits of chicken for their soup, and most of it is usually gone with the soup by morning. I tried putting in some of the smashed bone, but that wasn't eaten. Skit's not too sure of the smashed bone herself, but I'll keep trying. I've tried cutting up small pieces to mix with canned food for Anna, but she just licks it, or gnaws on it a little before spitting it out. I need to go pick up some rabbit or something To try with Morphia. She ate the chicken/canned food ball that Anna left one day, then regurgitated it on our bed
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Post by Heather on Jul 14, 2009 23:38:58 GMT -5
Do you have access to ground commercial raw food? You could mix a bit of that in your soupy too, to give them some bone chunks. You would still add the cut up chunks but this would get them used to eating crunchy things. It looks like they're accepting the chicken pieces, have you tried mixing some that are a bit larger, not a whole lot but just a bit...just add a couple and see what happens. Morphia really doesn't appear to be able to handle chicken Rabbit might be a good choice...I've found even Samurai can handle rabbit. ciao
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Post by faunafreak on Jul 15, 2009 23:41:07 GMT -5
I have to order online from a site like Hare Today to get whole ground animal. I combined my last order with another ferret owner who wanted to switch to raw - I may see if he's ready to make another order. Skit did really well tonight - she ate nearly an entire chicken thigh (meat only - I'd put some in her bowl as I cut it off the bone, then she'd eat it and wait for more). When there was only a little bit of meat left, I smashed the bones and put them back in the fridge. I've noticed that the joint end are much more difficult to smash - the ends wouldn't even crack open when I tried. I've got 2 hopper mice thawing out right now - one for Skit an dthe other for Keller. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks! Goodnight
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Post by Heather on Jul 16, 2009 1:15:02 GMT -5
Skit did very well...good stuff. Good luck with the hoppers, let me know how it goes ciao
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Post by faunafreak on Jul 16, 2009 22:00:00 GMT -5
Hah. Skit seems to have forgotten what mice are for. She would bat at it for a bit, then look at it like "why isn't it moving?" Even when I dangled it in front of her and slid it across the floor so she'd chase it, it never even got near her mouth. I finally gave it to Keller this morning (he ate his right away last night), so he ended up with 2 mice in a 24-hour period. If I could keep him from eating the kibble that the others still insist on eating, I could probably start working with you on a proper raw/whole prey diet for him right now (although I don't believe I'm ever going to stop providing soup, even if it is cooked - they really like it, and that way I can feed them something when they're sick and don't want to eat). I got Anna to eat some chicken by cutting up really small pieces and mixing them into a larger portion of canned duck. I'm going to do that for a few days, then either decrease the amount of canned duck or increase the amount/size of the chicken. Went out and bought a ducking and some quail, which are now thawing in my fridge. I almost got some rabbit, but it's already been gutted, and I can get a non-gutted rabbit from a local rat breeder or from Hare today
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Post by Heather on Jul 16, 2009 23:30:25 GMT -5
Silly little Skit....can you bring yourself to maybe cut a mouse open for our little Skit ....to remind her that there is food under all that fur. What about maybe a pinkie or two to refresh her memory. Has Keller tried some rats? or any other four footed furries? My guys won't touch kibbles, in fact I have a couple of furbrats who aren't particulaly fond of the ground stuff anymore either...prey is their favourite. They will eat the other (frankenprey, and commercial ground) but they would turn it all down if offered prey. I agree with you about the soupy, it's always good to have some sort of liquid that you can get them to eat, that they like when they're ill. It sounds like a good idea about getting Anna to switch too. I'm trying to find a supplier for rabbit with all it's parts, it's much more beneficial for your furkids. It's great that you have a supplier that you can trust. All in all, excellent work...I'm sorry about Skit but little ferts are created to teach us patience and frustration Good work, and good luck ciao
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Post by faunafreak on Jul 19, 2009 21:22:02 GMT -5
Keller hasn't tried anything larger than a hopper, but I've ordered some small mice to pick up next time. I'm going to try to give Skit a warm mouse (heated in water) to see if that stimulates her appetite. I gave Keller some straight raw chicken on a plate today, and he ate all but a single piece. I'd given Llullu and Ushba some soup with chicken, and Keller also ate some of that after he was done with the chicken. Anna ate the canned duck ball and chicken without a problem, but I also know that if Skit doesn't finish hers and I put the duck on it, Anna will lick or chew the duck off rather than just eating it.
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Post by Heather on Jul 20, 2009 0:08:50 GMT -5
Great stuff, I would think that Keller would probably be game to eat larger prey. The warm water thing might work....does Skit eat the soupy...what if you dipped the mouse in soupy?? Sounds like everybody's basically trying a lot of the foods being offered. It's all progress....they're moving along . ciao
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Post by faunafreak on Jul 24, 2009 22:44:17 GMT -5
Trying to get the mouse to a warmer temperature didn't help much - she just wanted to play with it, and then only if I was also playing with it. The moment I stopped, she just sat there and looked at it, then at me. Keller ended up getting 2 mice that day - which I'm sure he appreciated I cut up some quail for everyone to try today. Keller was the only ferret who would touch it - he seemed very happy crunching on some wing bits, stashed a thigh in his tunnel (he went back for it about half an hour later), AND ate some of the stuff in Skit's bowl. For the cats, I did the usual trick with Anna - some small pieces mixed into a ball of canned duck. I offered the same to Morphia. Both ate everything, and I'm waiting to see if Morphia has a reaction to it. Skit wasn't thrilled with the change - I don't know if it was the texture or the taste - so I mixed some duck in with hers. She ate some of it, as well as a chicken chunk I tossed in for her, but seemed hesitant about it. I thought at first it was the bones, but she didn't seem interested in the plain chunk of meat I gave her either. I might try mixing the quail with some chicken until she gets used to it. Hopefully that's the problem
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