Ferrets, cat and vets
Clyde went to the vet today and got his stitches out. He's doing so well. Haven't seen this much energy from him in a long time. We also took Bonnie with us for a blood test. Last night, we saw the final symptoms of something we suspected, but weren't sure of yet. We'd see her drool a couple of times and stumble. But all the ferrets stumble a little on these smooth floors (funny to watch them walk along and suddenly wipe). Those are the symptoms of insulinoma in ferrets. We'd seen it once after Jonathan was playing rough with her (which they love) but I thought maybe she was dizzy (even though that never happens). Saw her drool another time but told him we should wait just to be sure. Last night, I looked over and saw her foaming at the mouth, stumbling, and pawing at her nose (the final symptom). Had I not known about the insulinoma that Jonathan looked up, I'd have thought she was having a small seizure. Her other symptom is lethargy...that's just not right in a ferret.
So Jonathan got up in the middle of the night to move her to a separate cage to start her fasting for a blood draw. Doc was happy about that, as it looks like we diagnosed it right and caught it in time. This is not curable. But it's treatable. So he's starting her on medication that we'll give her twice daily. Everyone seems to be rather healthy, overall, now. Was concerned about Floyd showing signs of ferret adrenal problems but vet said if only his tail is ratlike (a little) just wait and see if it spreads to his haunches and back. If so, THEN its an adrenal problem.
Rufus was scheduled to go with Clyde this morning, but we bumped that to a later date so they could see Bonnie instead. This would be the 3rd time his rabies and distemper have been delayed due to a sick ferret, but he's not overdue for it yet. Meanwhile, he's happily playing outside now. Since he got hit by a car on Easter, I now keep him in around holidays. So he was inside Friday through Monday and was about to go out of his fuzzy little head and take us with him. He REALLY wanted to go out. He'll probably be back in a bit for his lunch and then be ready to go out again to lay around under the shrubs some more.
So Jonathan got up in the middle of the night to move her to a separate cage to start her fasting for a blood draw. Doc was happy about that, as it looks like we diagnosed it right and caught it in time. This is not curable. But it's treatable. So he's starting her on medication that we'll give her twice daily. Everyone seems to be rather healthy, overall, now. Was concerned about Floyd showing signs of ferret adrenal problems but vet said if only his tail is ratlike (a little) just wait and see if it spreads to his haunches and back. If so, THEN its an adrenal problem.
Rufus was scheduled to go with Clyde this morning, but we bumped that to a later date so they could see Bonnie instead. This would be the 3rd time his rabies and distemper have been delayed due to a sick ferret, but he's not overdue for it yet. Meanwhile, he's happily playing outside now. Since he got hit by a car on Easter, I now keep him in around holidays. So he was inside Friday through Monday and was about to go out of his fuzzy little head and take us with him. He REALLY wanted to go out. He'll probably be back in a bit for his lunch and then be ready to go out again to lay around under the shrubs some more.