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Post by rollinator on Jan 19, 2011 23:18:23 GMT -5
So because neither Westjet or AirCanada allow ferrets on board as cargo or carry on, I had to send my boy Rolo alone on a cargo flight. Since he's been here he hasn't touched his kibbles, I know it's not a formula change etc because he eats Origen and Now! I also have some cheap cat food that I use as treats because he loves them and they're healthier than ferret treats. He won't touch those either... I was planning on attempting to get him eating raw when he got here, and I've had slightly more success with that after I slathered it with ferretone. Mostly he just licked the oil but I saw him take a few bites of meat. I also attempted mushy kibbles, wet cat food, and pureed chicken baby food. Anyway I'm starting to get worried because it's been more than 48 hours and he won't eat anything except for cat milk. I tried to wean him off it today, he went eight hours without eating, I know I was reading waiting for him to eat, and then i gave in and gave him more cat milk. His poops are normal coloured and there's nothing wrong with them except that they're very runny. Not like diarrhea, more like the consistency of melted chocolate, so I don't think he's actually sick prolly just stressed from the flight. Has anyone else had this happen? I'm not sure what to do except continuing with the raw because I've had the most success with it. Any other suggestions? At this point I'll try anything to get him to eat.
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Post by Heather on Jan 20, 2011 0:12:15 GMT -5
I would be at this point resorting to some rescue remedy in his water and on his ears and nose. I would also be getting some human baby food and mixing some of his cat milk with the baby food. This way if he doesn't eat, you can syringe it in. Is he dehydrated? If he is that will be why he won't eat. It will make him nauseous. Have you had him checked out by the vet? If he hasn't eaten in that length of time he might be in trouble. You've got to get food into him ASAP. How is his attitude? Is he lethargic? Withdrawn? If you're going to continue feeding raw, I would suggest a soupy You can try to get them to eat a raw soup immediately. You will need a blender/food processor, and the following raw items:
8 oz raw chicken thigh meat (including skin and fat) 1/2 tsp of crushed eggshell powder (take a raw eggshell. Rinse it out. Let it dry. Crush to powder) 1 raw chicken heart 1/2 raw chicken liver Water or broth(use more to make it soupier, less to make it thicker). You may actually want to try adding some of the cat milk, as he seems to really like this. Blend ingredients together. Some prefer it at room temp. Try putting a dollop of "soup" onto your ferret's nose and they probably will lick it off. I use my finger. Sometimes this takes a little bit trying to convince them that you're not trying to poison them I find within a very short time they're licking this off my finger. When I see that they're willing to eat freely off my finger then I use a small spoon to try and get them to eat from that. Try to get them eating the soupy on their own. It might pique his interest. Please keep us posted and good luck ciao
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Post by rollinator on Jan 20, 2011 11:01:49 GMT -5
I have some preground raw chicken, with bones, hearts and livere etc and he's had a few really small bites of the duck. He still runs around and plays, sleeps on my bed with me and uses his litter box like a pro, the only weird behavior is that he won't eat. I'll try blending the meat with broth and baby food to make a soup, because he is starting to lose weight. Mixing in cat milk doesn't seem to help, but adding ferretone seems to help so I'll they that. The other idea that I'm toying with as a last resort, is seeing if he will kill and eat live prey. I know he'll kill a mouse, he rips at his electronic hamsters and "kills" them, even now though he's not eating, I'm wondering if instinct will carry through and he will then eat it? Does anyone have experience with this? I don't really want to go the live prey route, but if it keeps Rolo healthy I'll do it. I don't think he is dehydrated, his skin flap goes back down right away like usual and he pees a lot, ive had to completely change his litter twice in two days since he's drinking so much milk. Anyway I'll try making soup and giving him rescue remedy and see what happens, I'll let you know how it goes.
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Post by rollinator on Jan 20, 2011 11:23:49 GMT -5
I just checked on him again and gave him a bit of milk, and I'm pretty sure he ate some kibbles! He ate one off my hand as well! He's still not eating much, but the fact that he has started nibbling solids again is awesome! I'm going to make him some soup anyway because he needs fattening after almost three days of not eating. Also I've mixed in water ton his milk so it's not as filling. That way He can get his fix of it and still be hungry enough to eat real food.
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Post by Heather on Jan 20, 2011 13:53:03 GMT -5
Sounds like a good idea. Please keep us posted as to your little one's progress. It's a long trip to fly, even if it was a short hop and being placed in a box and flown cannot be easy ciao
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Post by rollinator on Jan 21, 2011 11:44:09 GMT -5
It was a long way to go, 5 hour flight, 2 hours preboarding, and another hour my end to pick him up, and then another hour back to my house, although I had brought cat milk to the cargo facility because I suspected he at least wouldn't want to eat coming off the flight. however super good news! When I got up his kibbles were scattered mostly the marshals so he was probably trying to get to his usual ones, and it looked like he was eating it, and then I put out about two tablespoons of ground duck meat and he hate half of it, and I didn't have to do any kind of coercion to get him to do it! yaaaaay! I'm so relieved, 3 days of not eating was scaring me. Also I saw something about cream for ferrets earlier, and wanted to suggest that cat milk might be a better option, as it's got protein and fat, calcium and tourine, and lactose reduced so it's easy to digest the amount he's eating still isn't the greatest, but he's interested in food again so that's a major development thanks for all the help and advice! I force fed him the soupy yesterday mixed with marshals probiotic powder supplement and I think that might have been what made him decide just to eat again
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Post by Heather on Jan 21, 2011 11:56:50 GMT -5
I"m glad that he is starting to come around. Where did you import him from? I'm probably going to be doing this whole thing too in about a year. I'm really interested in your experiences and what you had to do. You can pm me if you like or we can continue to chat here. My little ones will be flying into Pearson too, so knowing all the ins and outs would be a huge benefit. You're an hour out of Toronto? so am I ciao
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Post by rollinator on Jan 21, 2011 14:49:54 GMT -5
Well there are two companies you can go with, depending on which carrier you want your fuzzies to go with. I'm not partial to Westjet or AirCanada, so I did what was convenient. Ok so theres WestJet Cargo, which is misleading because it's got nothing to do with Westjet except for using their extra cargo space. It is actually Swissport that you will be picking up your fuzzies from the receiving end. This means that you go to the cargo handling area, not the actual airport, and don't panic if you ask a Westjet agent and they have no idea where to go or what to do, they're not very helpful in my experience, either find a Swissport employee, or call their number directly. The other option is to call ELS marketing, just google the company, and find the live animal shipping page. They use air canadas cargo space, and they usually allow food and water to be sent along as well, but, they require your animals to be dropped off 3 hours early, as opposed to WJ which is 2 hours. Also, I told the person booking my flight that Rolo NEEDED water as ferrets can get dehydrated, and he allowed it even though they usually don't unless the flight is longer than 12 hours. The other thing is, this wasn't really an import because it was my parents dropped him off in BC, and I just picked him up at Pearson. If the flight I'd within Canada, you don't need any medical papers of any kind, but just in case, I highly recommend taping proof of vaccinations and medical history to the case. This is more important if the flight has a stopover, just in case something goes wrong. If you are importing or exporting from the states you need a letter from your vet within the 10 days of the flight saying that your ferret is healthy and ok to fly. You also must provide proof of rabies vaccinations. Anyway the process is really straightforward, just make sure you know the size and total weight of the carrier and you just call either company and make the reservation. The temp in the cargo on Rolos flight depending on how high up they were was between 5-15 degrees c, but I'd always recommend checking. One other thing I want to add about ELS, is that they allow you to ship pet supplies without charging you the minimal fee for priority packages, this is really useful with ferrets, as they tend to have s ton of stuff.... Almost forgot, the price of Rolo's flight was 110$ after tax, (with WJ) and ELS quoted 115$ or 150$ with let supplies. I asked if i could do the same with WJ, but it would have cost 180$. So anyway i decided just to make the extra stuff, but if you have medication that must be there right away, I'd recommend ELS because of this. Also, they charge an additional deposit to your credit card, I'm assuming in case the animal isn't picked up for any reason so they have money to pay for boarding or a vet etc. But this gets refunded upon pickup. The crate has to have a metal door with the spring lock, and the sides cannot be the clip down ones, they must be bolted together with screws and wingknuts. Petsmart sells one for 18$ canadian. Anyway I hope this helps, and just so you know I am constantly writing new letters to both Westjet and AC to allow ferrets in cargo on the same flights as us, and in the cabin. If you want to help sending feedback from their websites would be great. I'm writing letters and getting a package together to send to both of their head offices in order to get them to change their policies. If only Rolo could have just come with me, the trauma of traveling would have been greatly reduced and I wouldn't have had this not eating business on my hands. Also I figured I'd just post here, because I'm sure many people may find they need to ship their fuzzies at some point in time, so the info is useful for sure
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