Eating kidney, and vomiting/diarrhea

[sherrylynne]

I've got a rather unusual problem here. Twice my 2 1/2 year old, Vincent, has had beef kidney in the last couple of months. Twice now, he's had blood tinged mucousy diarrhea(just looked like reddish mucous), as well as throwing it all up. This all occurs within 10-20 minutes of eating the beef kidney, but at no other time.
I had him to the vet after the first episode, but he was fine(vet found nothing).
Otherwise, everything is normal. Eating/playing/drinking/voiding/pooping all normal, unless he has the kidney. The vomiting I can understand- it's the blood- tinged mucous from the bowel.
If it's any help- I have to spoon feed it to him, and he takes it very reluctantly. Could the stress of having to have this cause the mucous output?
Oh- and he'd had beef kidney in the past, but I couldn't find it for the longest time(about a year). When I found it, I reintroduced it.
While the others aren't overly fond of it, they had no problem.

[Heather]

Could it be a sensitivity? If it's reddish and indeed bloody, then that's frank blood (surface or irritated) Now, I've had organ meat go straight through so to speak....it was liver and unfortunately, I've no idea which ferret made the deposit for sure. I can suspect, which I think it was Ghenghis who has IBD...some foods just go straight through with him, hence I try and feed him some veggy matter with his food.
Considering his reaction...I would be tempted not to feed this protein again. Does this happen with pork kidneys too? Does this happen if you mix some other organ meats together and feed it?
ciao

[sherrylynne]

Thanks Heather. I can't find pork kidney, and liver doesn't seem to bother him. This last time, he was so adamant about not eating the chicken liver/beef kidney soup mix, that I finally gave up. After the first spoonful, he actually started to whimper, so I just let him be. I've never given just the kidney by itself, and he does fine with straight liver, of any kind.
I just find the idea of a sensitivity so odd, because he used to eat it previously with no problem whatsoever. And after his reaction to it, I will be staying away from it. I just wish I could find other organ meats than liver for him.

[Heather]

I would be really tempted not to bother for all the bonus that is offered by the extra type of organ meat. When an animal refuses to that degree, I'm in the habit of putting their likes/dislikes at a high priority. Mithrandir (dog) will not eat chicken or turkey. I've done the starvation thing....he would rather go for days without eating. I know that a dog will not starve itself.....without reason....maybe he has a reason .
ciao

[Darlene]

Reading these posting makes me wonder--Is eating organ meat a necessity? My guys absolutely hate it and I've never pushed it. They do get a chicken mix (ground) 3x a week that has liver in it. (It's your recipe Heather)

[sherrylynne]

They really do need the vitamins from the liver at least. I believe it's the only way they get vit. A for instance. Not sure about the trace minerals. How long have they been just eating the mix 3X a week? If they have a deficiency, you should notice it in about 6-8 months at the outside.

[Darlene]

The first year(or so) of the boys life they didn't get any chicken mix,their diet consisted mainly rmb and whole prey. They got gizzards and hearts also,for some reason I thought they were organs. Over the last couple of years I've given each one an ice cube size for breakfast everyday. After a few months I'd find they would be real fussy about not eating rmbs',so I knock it back to 2-3x/week. Which is what I'm doing right now. They also get whole prey every day. (Although for the last few months Koby has decided he won't eat mice anymore,I have no idea why). I haven't noticed any ill effects from their diet.

[Heather]

I don't feed liver in it's all together....I've got too many who won't eat it. They do get it in the rmb mix and with their whole prey. If you think you're running it a little short ... up it in their mix. I find that I would rather pick my fights and fighting about eating their liver straight up isn't one of the battles that I'm willing to participate in. I just find that I have to be a bit sneaky If they're not getting the amount of prey that I like (my guys are getting prey daily....the mouse factory was very productive this spring and I'm down to 12 furbabies ) then I just up the amount of liver in their mix. Darlene feeds the same rmb mix that I do, so other than sometimes feeding a little more or less you should be fine. I've not seen any problems with feeding it this way. Balance over time Just remember because of the ferrets' metabolism that time is shorter and the balance must be achieved over a shorter period
Keep a close eye on Koby.....check to see if he's had a bad mouse, try a different size or supplier to see if something has turned him off that way. See if he will eat rats. Just watch him. When a ferret gives up something they really like diet wise I get edgy. My Loki suddenly stopped eating his mice, he would still hunt but he would just stash his mice.....
ciao

[Darlene]

Apr 24, 2010 13:24:28 GMT -5 Heather said:

Keep a close eye on Koby.....check to see if he's had a bad mouse, try a different size or supplier to see if something has turned him off that way. See if he will eat rats. Just watch him. When a ferret gives up something they really like diet wise I get edgy. My Loki suddenly stopped eating his mice, he would still hunt but he would just stash his mice.....
ciao

I'm not really sure why he's quit eating mice,it took me awhile to figure out he was the one not eating mice. I have rat pups,he's snubbed his nose at those also. I'm thinking of cutting up a fuzzy and putting it in the chicken mix. I did get some mice from the company that I get the quail from,he didn't eat those either. Other than not eating mice he's his normal self. Did Loki ever eat mice again?

[Heather]

No, he tried a couple of times but it just exhausted him. Loki was about 8 yrs old. He stopped eating whole mice (just ate the heads) around Sept/Oct and then stopped eating them all together around Dec. He had been diagnosed with renal failure in Sept. Nico also stopped eating his mice but that being said Aremis never gave them up, though he did finally eat only pinkies.
Have you tried starting him over, you know the whole pinky to fuzzy thing and see if you can get him started again. You feed frozen don't you? Perhaps a live one would wet his appetite (I truly understand if you don't want to go there, it's just a suggestion)
ciao

[Darlene]

So your guys were much older than Koby. I'll have to figure out how to get Koby interested again,lol. Using a live mouse doesn't bother me. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Heather]

Yah...my guys are a lot older. Out of 12 right now, I've got 5 over the age of 6, one who's 10, if not a bit older and none under the age of 4. Nico was a hard hit because he was only just 6, Aremis was 7. I hate lymphomas
ciao