Ferrets' blog

Wild Night For Little Weasels

2011-03-13T11:52:00.013-05:00

This month I've been moving into a new apartment. The ferrets have been staying at the old place with my good friend and former housemate while I got things moved and setup at the new place. Last night the ferrets finally came to live in their new home.

The ferts were definitely stimulated by their new surroundings last night: Zephyr ran for well over 2 hours and Chin Soon was absolutely wild. Zephy discovered that my bathroom door doesn't latch well. I'll have to see if my landlord will do something to fix that tomorrow.

I often read how old ferrets slow down and are a bit mellower. My two clearly don't know they are supposed to be old.

Another Fuzzy Picture of a Fuzzy

2011-02-11T00:58:00.002-06:00

Yes, that's Zephyr. If she looks like a perfectly normal little ferret, well... that's what she's acting like as well.

Oh, and yes, this is another fuzzy picture from my Blackberry. I will have better pictures to post in the not too distant future. I just wanted to share how well Zephyr is doing.

Five Straight for Zephyr

2011-02-06T21:04:00.000-06:00

Zephyr had her fifth straight normal blood glucose reading :) She still slides a bit on the hardwoods and still startles easily but otherwise she's doing great. Dr. Powers does great work. Considering Zephyr's age I consider myself very, very fortunate to have her getting back to normal.

Cute New Picture of Chin Soon

2011-01-31T22:39:00.000-06:00

I've mostly been writing about Zephyr and her recovery from insulinoma surgery. Of course, reading about medical problems all the time gets to be tiresome. There is a happy, healthy seven and a half year old ferret named Chin Soon who deserves a little attention here as well. This picture was taken last night:

The ball in the picture is Zephyr's favorite toy. It was sniffed by Chin Soon but not stolen. Chin Soon is still being kind to Zephyr during her recovery.

The picture was taken with my Blackberry which is a great phone but a less than wonderful camera, hence the fuzzy picture of my little fuzzy. Hopefully I'll have some better pictures of both ferrets soon.

Zephyr: First Playtime, Worries About Post-Surgical Diabetes

2011-01-29T18:45:00.003-06:00

Zephyr's blood glucose was 287 last night. If Dr. Powers was in town she would have gone back to Huntersville and probably would have started on insulin. Since Dr. Powers is out of town I decided to wait and see what her blood glucose was today. Thankfully it was down to 213. If it stays below 250 I'll remember that the glucometer we have isn't the most accurate in the world and not overreact to one high number. If it goes up into the danger zone again I'll have no choice.

We have experienced surgically induced diabetes with pretty much all our ferrets who have had insulinoma surgery over the years. The worst was Chin Soon, who actually had to have insulin injections for about a week. Her pancreas began working normally after that and she made a full recovery.

I did give Zephyr her first playtime last night and she mainly explored for almost half an hour. She still has some hind end weakness but she didn't fall. Chin Soon got excited and sniffed and followed and chatted up a storm. She didn't try to wrestle. She seems to understand that Zephyr isn't healthy right now, which is good. Zephyr, for her part, did the litter pan shuffle and begged for treats :) I'll take that as a good sign.

Once Zephyr went into the fleecy blanket Chin Soon wanted lots of attention from me. She's still clearly concerned about her adopted sister. So am I.

Zephyr is Recovering Beautifully

2011-01-25T11:01:00.007-06:00

Zephyr, my ferret who had insulinoma surgery yesterday, is making a beautiful recovery so far. She began eating kibble on her own last night in addition to her gravy and did a very professional job of emptying the food bowl and water bottle. She has diarrhea but otherwise is eliminating normally.

Zephyr's blood glucose was 269 last night. Post-surgical diabetes was expected and Dr. Powers called that number borderline but not of enough concern to have to bring her back just yet. This morning my glucometer gave an error and by the time I was ready to try again with another strip I had to prick her tail again. The problem was she had already just about finished her chicken gravy. We scruffed her to try that way and the little monster repeatedly broke the scruff. That's how strong and feisty she is this morning. I'll give her more gravy in a couple of hours and that should let me try again.

Right now we are weening her from prednisolone, giving her tramadol every 12 hours for pain, and a sliver of Pepcid AC in her gravy to avoid ulcers.

I was told that Chin Soon was really agitated when Zephyr wasn't around last night. We let them briefly sniff each other through cage bars last night and put the recovery cage next to the main cage so that the two would know the other is there and is OK. That isn't good enough for Chin Soon, who frantically circled the recovery cage this morning looking for a way in and then repeatedly dumped her food bowl and deliberately missed the litter pan in protest. The next week, while the two have to be separated, is going to be challenging.

All in all, I'm thrilled with how well Zephyr is recovering.

Zephyr: Insulinoma Surgery

2011-01-24T13:24:00.008-06:00

Zephyr is now approximately 7½ years old. She was diagnosed with insulinoma before the holidays and has been on prednisolone which did absolutely nothing for her. She had a seizure last week and continued to have severe symptoms. Her blood glucose as of this morning was 36.

Dr. Lauren Powers at Carolina Veterinary Specialists performed insulinoma surgery on Zephyr this morning. This is the third time I've had insulinoma surgery on a ferret Zephyr's age or older and, in all three cases, either Dr. Dan Hudson, Dr. Holly Weston and now Dr. Powers believed it was the only treatment option left.

The good news is that Zephyr came through surgery just fine and is awake. Two very large nodules were removed from Zephyr's pancreas. While nothing was sent off for pathology yet Dr. Powers believes the really huge one is a carcinoma. Dr. Powers also found a small, smooth, round nodule on Zephyr's spleen which she aspirated. She believes it will prove to be benign and did not want to remove the spleen unless it was absolutely necessary so it stayed in. Everything else looked normal, including both adrenal glands and Zephyr's lymph nodes.

I'm never comfortable with surgery on a ferret Zephyr's age but sometimes it is the only good option. When Kodo and Podo had their insulinoma surgeries their quality of life improved dramatically and they lived for roughly two more years. I'm hoping we've bought that much time for Zephyr too.

Goodbye Ella, 2002-2010

2010-10-08T16:50:00.005-05:00

Back in February my oldest ferret, Ella, went to the vet for a couple of issues which I wrote about back then. She also had an enlarged spleen for roughly three years up until then. On that
examination found that her spleen was normal size but showed some irregular edges on the ultrasound. Dr. Powers didn't seem overly concerned at the time and we didn't worry about it.

For nearly eight months since then Ella acted like a happy, healthy, affectionate and playful ferret. All seemed right with the world.

Last Saturday night Ella had a little bit of an upset tummy, was moving a bit slowly, and seemed to have some hind end weakness. My first thought was insulinoma since that was what it looked like.

By Sunday evening the diarrhea was much worse, as in almost liquid and Ella had pronounced hind end weakness. She still ate her chicken gravy greedily but had little energy after that. I debated an emergency vet visit but decided she'd probably be OK if I called her regular vet in the morning.

By Monday morning it was obvious something was terribly wrong. Ella could barely move and was incontinent. She couldn't even move from her own waste. She was shivering and cool to the touch. I decided she couldn't take the three hour drive to Huntersville to see Dr. Powers and I called a local vet and got her in there. I kept her warm as best I could and gave her some warm gravy which she ate during the first part of the 45 minute drive.

By the time we arrived at the vet Ella's breathing was labored and she barely responded at all. The vet examined her and the news was terrible: Ella had a very large tumor on her spleen which had ruptured. She was bleeding into her abdomen. We were advised us that the kindest thing we could do was to say goodbye.

Ella was originally rescued in early 2003. She was found as a stray wandering in Chapel Hill in miserable shape. Her first vet appointment was on March 19, 2003 and we always treated that as if it was her birthday. That vet (Dr. Dan Hudson, who has since retired) estimated her age at 1 year old at that time. Dr. Powers saw her later and estimated that she was half a year older than that. Her original owner passed away rather suddenly in late 2004 and we adopted her ferrets, Ella and Zephyr. Ella was somewhere around eight and a half or perhaps nine years old when she died.

This is essentially the same way we lost Romana five years ago. At the time I was away on a business trip and my housemate has long beat herself up for not getting Romana to the vet the second she saw something wrong. I've always told her it wouldn't have made a difference. Suddenly I find myself asking the same question. I raised the issue on the Ferret Health List and the consensus was that it probably wouldn't have mattered. It was Ella's time.

Goodbye, Ella Bear. You will be missed.

Shana Tovah

2010-09-08T12:06:00.002-05:00

This evening at sundown is the start of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. It is also the beginning of the High Holy Days for Jewish people, 10 days of reflection and penitence. It is the start of the year 5177, a year that is shaping up to be interesting to say the least.

New year's resolutions are not part of the Jewish tradition but I am going to make one anyway. I resolve to post more frequently about my ferrets, to take more cute ferret pictures, and to generally be more active on this blog.

I would like to take a moment to wish everyone Shana Tovah. May the coming year be happy, healthy, prosperous and sweet for you.

Low In The Weasel

2010-02-19T20:18:00.003-06:00

Tonight is a perfect night for watching the Olympics with the ferrets. Ice dancing is on now and Zephyr was just war dancing. Tonight's men's Super G skiing coverage includes a part of the course called "the weasel". I constantly heard commentary like "he's a bit low in the weasel". Ferrets, of course, are a member of the weasel family. You can't get more of a ferret tie in to the Olympics than that.

There have been lots of crashes and falls on the ski course. In the race for the gravy Chin Soon and Ella had a big crash and the oldest ferret, Ella, just couldn't recover as quickly as Chin Soon. Chin Soon took the gold, Ella settled for the silver, and Zephyr the bronze. Skier Bode Miller also had to settle for a silver for Team USA but it was his second in as many events. Another American skier, Andrew Weibrecht, took the bronze. Certainly not a bad day for Team USA, which now has won 20 medals.

I was still a bit under the weather last night and wanted to be up to go to work today so I missed the end of the men's figure skating. I missed Evan Lysacek's gold medal performance for Team USA. I won't miss any more figure skating if at all possible.

In other ferret news Ella finished her course of medication for her eye, which seems to be back to normal. So far this has been her most active night in quite a while.

A Good Day For Ella, A Great Day For Team USA

2010-02-18T19:04:00.006-06:00

Yesterday I was a bit under the weather. Ella, on the other hand, was having a good day. Her eye is almost completely back to normal. I also got her cytology report back from Dr. Powers.

The good news is that the masses on her spleen are benign. Quoting:

"Extramedullary hematopoiesis is a common cause for splenic enlargement in ferrets, especially older ferrets. The cause for this process has not been determined, but it may be associated with antigenic stimulation from the gut, endocrine or metabolic derangements, aging, or combinations thereof."

Dr. Powers' translation is that these are two spots where the spleen is producing extra red blood cells. Aging as a cause? Older ferrets? That sounds like Ella. We've known she's had an enlarged spleen for a few years.

The results on the enlarged subiliac lymph nodes were inconclusive. As Dr. Powers explained previously this could be caused by a chronic GI disease. It also...

"could possibly represent early stages of small cell lymphoma, the most common variant of lymphoma in old ferrets."

In other words we still don't know the cause. I still need to talk to Dr. Powers to decide how to proceed from here. In the meanwhile Ella hasn't had diarrhea in a week and is putting on weight. She hasn't been quite as active as she normally is but all in all she seems to be doing OK.

Tonight was better. In the race to the chicken gravy Ella took the gold, edging out Chin Soon in the run from the cage door to her favorite treat at the entrance to the kitchen. Not too bad for an old, blind ferret who is supposed to be past her prime.

So... last night we watched skiing and speed skating on a day when Americans won six medals. The women's downhill included some horrendous crashes. It also saw Lindsey Vonn take the gold medal and Julia Mancuso win the silver, the first time U.S. women finished 1-2 since 1984. I also saw Shani Davis take the gold medal in men's 1,000 meter speed skating while Chad Hedrick took the bronze. It was the best day ever for Team USA in the Winter Olympics.

Tonight it's skiing again, and lots of playing with some bouncy little weasels. Add a little figure skating and it sounds like fun to me. I just wish I could be in Vancouver seeing it live.

Four Years Later It's Ferrets and Figure Skating Again

2010-02-14T19:51:00.004-06:00

Four years ago I wrote about watching the Winter Olympics and playing with my ferrets. This year I actually received an e-mail from the U.S. Olympic Committee which asked me if I'd be willing to blog about Team USA here on the ferrets' blog again this year. They actually noticed my three posts four years ago. Amazing! Anyway, I won't disappoint them.

Three of the four ferrets who were there for the Olympics in 2006 are back. Nyssa, of course, lost her battle with lymphoma at the ripe old age of eight in July, 2006. Ella, Zephyr and Chin Soon are now all older ferrets but don't tell them that when they are in high energy play mode.

So, will Chin Soon take the gold again as my non-stop weasel? So far, no, that honor goes to the always playful Zephyr. As I wrote four years ago Zephyr and all the ferrets love the Olympics because while I watch they are free to run around and during long commercial breaks they get lots of attention. Oh, and yeah, I love the Winter Olympics too. I went to the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid and I've been addicted to the quadrennial games ever since.

What about Team USA? Skaters Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig turned in a beautiful performance this evening in the pairs short program. They aren't expected to contend for a medal but their skating was still fantastic to watch.

Ella's eye seems to be improving slowly. Earlier it was fully open but at medication time this evening it didn't look too good. I hope to have results from her lab work in the next day or two. Zephyr seems fine. She's growing a summer coat in midwinter. Her seasons have always been way off and she's been healthy all her life. Anything resembling adrenal symptoms have disappeared, at least for now.

Anyway, I'll be blogging about Olympic ferret playtime again over the next two weeks. I can't disappoint the USOC, can I?

Ella, Zephyr and Chin Soon Vet Visit Update -- Good News and Bad

2010-02-10T20:26:00.004-06:00

The ferrets and I made the long trip to Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Huntersville yesterday to see. Dr. Lauren Powers. Ella actually has two distinct medical problems. The right eye has an ulcer which has been causing her considerable pain. She is now on both topical and oral antibiotics: one drop of Ofloxacin 0.3% in the injured eye 3-4 times daily and 0.4 ml enrofloxacin. We also have pain meds for her for the next 3-4 days as needed until the eye heals a bit.

The good news here is that after just one day with medication Ella's eye is already improving. Yesterday morning Ella was holding the eye tightly closed and was in obvious pain. She's not holding it closed tonight and is having a nice, normal active evening despite the pain meds. She actually seems far less uncomfortable tonight and was acting more like her normal self.

The ultrasound showed two nodules on Ella's spleen and what Dr. Powers thinks are enlarged illiac lymph nodes. We decided to put Ella under and do aspirates on all three masses. They were sent off for cytology and we should get results by the end of the week. Dr. Powers is still worried about the possibility of lymphoma. The peripheral lymph nodes are not enlarged and the she did say that other things can cause enlarged illiac lymph nodes including IBD and other chronic GI disease. Once we have Ella's lab results back we'll decide how to proceed.

Dr. Powers did check Ella's blood glucose again (was 77 last time) and it was a nice, normal 98. She does not have insulinoma.

I'll post more when the cytology report comes back. Obviously I'm hoping that the masses are benign and that Ella doesn't have lymphoma. FWIW, Ella did have diarrhea this morning but her output was normal later in the day.

The news for Zephyr was also mixed. The good news is that she hasn't actually lost weight. Zephyr has blown her coat at an odd time. What we are seeing is far less hair, not less ferret. The bad news is that her vulva is a bit swollen and that the hair on her belly is thin. We're going to watch and wait and see how symptoms develop. Right now this is looking an awful lot like adrenal disease which would be bad news. At age seven I don't know if we'd do surgery or not. Seeing how Zephyr responds to Lupron is probably the first option if the symptoms of adrenal disease become clear.

Chin Soon's gums are healing. She still has some root exposure but there is definite improvement. Dr. Powers said we should keep doing what we're doing, meaning brushing her teeth regularly, and we'll see how things go over the next two months. Chin Soon's blood glucose was also rechecked and was a nice, normal 91. For Chin Soon yesterday's recheck was all good news.

The cost of all this was almost $700, and almost all of that cost was Ella's diagnostic work. Whatever Ella's diagnosis ends up being we're not done yet.

Ella May Be In Trouble, Zephyr Losing Weight

2010-02-08T14:04:00.003-06:00

Due to the winter storm last week the vet appointment for Ella was put off until tomorrow morning. In the meanwhile, over the last couple of days, Ella has become very obviously ill. She can barely open her right eye at all and both eyes are watery. She's also had two serious bouts of diarrhea over the last five days with normal output in between. Ella has also always really loved rough play. The last two nights she's come to me to play with her as always. When she does, though, if I touch her belly much she vocalizes discomfort and play ends. That, combined with her blood test results from January 18th, especially her elevated globulin, have Dr. Powers thinking that Ella may have intestinal lymphoma. That would be truly horrible news.

Dr. Powers will call me back later today with, in her words, "lots of questions" when she's done with her current patient. She doesn't feel like coming in this evening instead of tomorrow morning will make a difference, so for now the plan is to keep tomorrow's scheduled appointment and do more diagnostic work to determine for certain what is wrong with Ella.

In the meanwhile Ella ran around and explored like always last night, is eating and drinking normally, and has plenty of energy so I am hoping against hope for better news when the tests are done.

I am also very concerned about Zephyr who has lost a lot of weight in a very short period of time and also has had on again, off again diarrhea. Like Ella there has been no drop off in Zephyr's activity level and her appetite is just fine. Like Ella she isn't bouncing as much and is avoiding rough play.

Whenever one of the other ferrets is sick Chin Soon tends to stick to them like glue. I saw this with a then eight year old Nyssa during the final month or two of her life. Chin Soon was Nyssa's constant companion then and would curl up and sleep with her. Chin Soon is doing that with Zephyr now which also worries me.

Ella is just two week short of the seventh anniversary of her rescue so she is right around eight years old. Zephyr is six weeks away from the sixth anniversary of her rescue and is roughly seven. Both are considered old in ferret terms. I'm still not ready to lose either one of them.

I'll post more when I know more.

Ella and Chin Soon's Latest Vet Visit

2010-01-28T11:44:00.005-06:00

The ferrets and I took a trip to see Dr. Lauren Powers at Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Huntersville a week ago Monday. No, nothing was wrong with any of the ferrets as far as I could tell. They have all seemed blissfully healthy. At their last visit Dr. Powers commented that Chin Soon really needed her teeth scaled. Ella is also somewhere close to eight years old if she's not there already and it's advisable to have checkups and blood work done twice a year for geriatric ferrets. Zephyr came along for the ride since I thought that would be better for her than staying alone in a cage all day.

The good news for Chin Soon is that her fasting blood glucose was a nice, normal 96. This is great news nine months after insulinoma surgery. She also now has nice, clean teeth. The bad news is that her rear teeth have root exposure and pockets which could become infected. The recommendation is that she have those teeth extracted. For right now we're starting antibiotics. I really, really trust Dr. Powers but I was pretty surprised (OK, shocked) by this recommendation. I need to look into it more before allowing her to do something like this to Chin Soon. I know that for human dental care preserving the teeth and doing everything possible to avoid losing them is paramount.

I discussed my concerns with Dr. Powers and her suggested course of action made sense to me. We'll continue brushing Chin Soon's teeth weekly with her Dora the Explorer toothbrush and see if there is any improvement now that the tartar has been removed from her teeth and with antibiotics. If not we'll have to go ahead with the extraction in the next couple of months. If she improves then we can avoid that.

Ella's weight is down about 100 grams over the past seven months but otherwise Dr. Powers says she's in great physical shape. Pending blood work coming back normal she got a clean bill of health. Based on her initial exam it seemed that Ella is in fantastic shape for an eight year old ferret. It's also been more than five years since Dr. Powers did her adrenal surgery and there is still no sign of recurrence or really any health problems at all. Ella does have some tartar on her teeth so we're going to start brushing hers as well. The plan was to her teeth cleaned when we bring Chin Soon in again but that is now on hold.

Later that evening we got a call with results from Ella's bloodwork. Unfortunately a few values were off, including a blood glucose of 77. Because of the other blood values Dr. Powers and her new intern (who's name escapes me at the moment) are thinking some sort of infection or inflammation. We're taking her back to Huntersville for more diagnostic work next week: abdominal ultrasound and urinalysis. Hopefully that will tell us what's going on.

This was a bit of a surprise because Ella showed no symptoms whatsoever of illness. She plays just like always, has a great appetite and absolutely normal output. I guess I just got a great example of why vets do recommend checkups and bloodwork every six months on the old guys to catch things and treat them before they become serious. Some of the possibilities listed are easily treated with medication while others are more serious. Here's hoping it's one of the easily treatable things.

Happy Thanksgiving From Chin Soon and the Other Ferrets

2009-11-26T12:55:00.007-06:00

A very Happy Thanksgiving from Chin Soon and the other ferrets.

OK, Chin Soon probably doesn´t know anything about Thanksgiving. The holiday was a good excuse to share a new,cute picture of her standing up on the plexiglass barrier that keeps her out of the kitchen. Yes, she has a full winter coat. Chin Soon is doing just brilliantly since recovering from her surgery in April and is as playful and crazy as ever.

Ella and Zephyr are doing just fine too. I´ll have more cute pictures here and on their website soon.

Happy Belated Birthday, Chin Soon

2009-07-28T21:50:00.003-05:00

Life's been crazy busy lately and I didn't post last week about an important event. Last week was 5 years and a month since Chin Soon's rescue. We were told she was 11 months old then. That means she had her sixth birthday. Since we don't know her exact date of birth we mark her birthday by the anniversary of her rescue. Happy belated birthday, Chin Soon! I'll try to get some new, cute pictures taken soon for all to see.

Oh, and yes, Chin Soon did fully recover from her vaccination reactions and her surgery. She's bouncy and playful and acts like a young ferret again even though she's now officially "geriatric". Just don't tell her that. Last night Chin Soon and Ella took turns pouncing each other and wrestling like crazy. Ella is now about 7½ and she also doesn't know she's supposed to be old. I think Chin Soon thought it was time that she became dominant alpha and Ella was having no part of that. Ella is still the toughest ferret of the three. She doesn't start fights but she sure finishes them. In that way she reminds me of Tenchi, our first ferret and then our first alpha once ferret math struck., even if she looks more like a miniature version of Kodo (a/k/a Big Bear).

Anyway, my housemate and I did pick up a small cake to celebrate the occasion. It's been a good birthday for Chin Soon and we're thrilled she's still around to brighten our lives.

Chin Soon's Delayed Reaction To Her Distemper Vaccination

2009-06-20T17:02:00.003-05:00

Last Tuesday it seemed that Chin Soon's reaction to her distemper vaccination was the least severe of the three. By last night Ella and Zephyr were completely back to normal and were especially playful. They were the proverbial energizer weasels: they kept going and going. Chin Soon continued to look and feel out of sorts while the others recovered and by last night it looked like she was in serious trouble. She had no energy at all and still seemed off balance. By last night it was so bad she could barely walk. Chin Soon had obviously been losing weight despite still having her usually strong appetite for chicken gravy. I'm just not sure she was eating much of anything else. She was weak but it didn't look at all the same as when she had insulinoma. She just plain looked miserable.

I was able to reach Dr. Powers around 10 PM last night and she really came through for Chin Soon and for me. Based on her instructions I gave Chin Soon 0.05ml of pediapred (1mg/ml concentration) as an anti-inflammatory. We still had pred in the house from when she was taking it for insulinoma. I also gave her a tiny amount of famotidine (generic for Pepcid AC) crushed up in some more gravy. I've been offering her gravy every three to four hours since then. If need be Dr. Powers offered to see Chin Soon today on an emergency basis. Thankfully it wasn't necessary.

The good news is that Chin Soon seems to have turned the corner and is slowly improving. She's more perky and is eating plenty of gravy when offered. She doesn't feel nearly as light. I checked her blood glucose just in case and it was a nice, normal 101 this morning. Dr. Powers called to check up on Chin Soon and instructed me to continue the pediapred once a day for another couple of days and to continue carafate (now discontinued for the other ferrets) and the famotidine for another four days. We'll touch base on Monday or Tuesday.

Chin Soon is scheduled for her rabies vaccination and having her teeth cleaned right after the 4th of July holiday. Right now it's an open question whether or not we'll go ahead with either of those things. It all depends on how she recovers from here on out.

Three Vaccinations, Three Reactions

2009-06-16T22:10:00.006-05:00

Ella, Zephyr and Chin Soon all went to see Dr. Lauren Powers at Carolina Veterinary Specialists today to have their regular checkups and their annual distemper vaccinations. All three ferrets have had previous reactions to Merial Purevax, which has become the standard distemper vaccination. The older vaccine, Fervac-D, had a high rate of adverse reactions. Merial Purevax is supposed to have a very low reaction rate. Unfortunately my ferrets don't seem to know that. Anyway, in the past when a ferret of mine had a relatively minor reaction we pretreated with Benadryl the following year and there were no problems at all. This year my ferrets all had adverse reactions despite being pretreated, something I had never seen before.

The reactions included vomiting and diarrhea. Chin Soon's reaction was relatively mild. Ella and Zephyr both needed dex-s injections, a famotidine injection to settle their stomachs, and sub-q fluids to rehydrate them. Zephyr, who seemed to have the most severe reaction, stayed with Dr. Powers the longest. After three hours at the vet we finally were able to head for home thinking the worst had passed.

On the last leg of the trip home one of the ferrets (probably Zephyr, but we can't really be sure) had nasty, seriously bloody diarrhea. That qualifies as a severe reaction. I called Dr. Powers and while my housemate watched the ferrets like a hawk I ran out to the pharmacy before closing to get some carafate. If the problem recurred someone was going back to the vet for the night. Thankfully that didn't happen. Zephyr and Ella still have upset stomachs (not unexpected) but no blood. Chin Soon had little energy tonight but her stool is almost back to normal. Everyone involved, ferret and human, had a very rough day. It also turned into a somewhat expensive day, as in well over $200 all told.

Ella will be eight before she is due for another distemper vaccination. Dr. Powers has already advised me not to vaccinate her again. Between her age and the reaction it just is safer not to. Zephyr and Chin Soon will be vaccinated next year assuming they are healthy but will be pretreated with dexamethasone as well as Benadryl to prevent this from happening again.

After the fourth of July weekend all go back to the vet for their rabies vaccinations. They all have reacted to that before as well. Rabies vaccinations are mandatory where I live so we will go ahead with those. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of today's very long and very unpleasant vet visit. Ella will also have blood work done then. No, nothing is wrong. It's just something our vet likes to do every six months to catch any problems early in ferrets over seven years old.

There was good news today. Chin Soon's blood glucose was a nice, normal 109. She got a clean bill of health and has completely recovered from her April insulinoma and adrenal surgery. Dr. Powers commented that her coat is so full now you can't even tell that she had surgery. Her teeth and gums are still pretty nasty and she will have them properly scaled and cleaned next visit.

Ella is also blissfully healthy. Even though she is just about blind and occasionally bumps into things her pupils still react to a strong light and there are no signs of cataracts. Her spleen is still moderately enlarged but, as expected, we aren't going to worry about that and she has no symptoms that indicate it's a problem. It's been four and a half years since Dr. Powers did her adrenal surgery and she really has had no problems other than vaccination reactions (now three in all) since then.

Zephyr is the only ferret of my three who has never had a major health issue. Despite all that happened today she had a decent amount of energy tonight and acter like her normal self.

It's been a long day and I'm glad it's over.

Too Hot For My Ferrets (and For Me)

2009-05-29T01:25:00.005-05:00

Our air conditioner is out and we're waiting for service to show up. They were supposed to "work us in" on Thursday but never showed up. This is North Carolina and we're already having summer weather. Even with everything opened up and the ceiling fans on it climbed to 82°F in the house. Even now, as of 2:27 AM, it's still 80°F indoors even though it's much cooler outside. It's also humid and I can't sleep.

Ferrets generally don't do well in temperatures over 80°F so the little weasels are probably even more uncomfortable than I am. I've made sure they have plenty of water and plenty of bedding to burrow into if they want. During playtime they seemed as happy and as active as ever at first but they ran out of energy and sacked out quickly. The few times they've had to deal with hot weather in their lives their energy level has always been way down.

It's supposed to get up to 88°F which is definitely too hot for my ferrets. If the air conditioning repair people don't show up early I'll have to make up some ice packs for the ferrets so that they can keep cool. That's pretty much all I can do until the A/C is fixed which, I hope, will be sometime during the day.

UPDATE: The A/C was fixed at 10 AM this morning. The ferrets are energizer weasels tonight and as playful as ever. What a difference a day and some cooler air makes.

Chin Soon Is Recovering Beautifully

2009-04-16T16:01:00.003-05:00

Chin Soon is doing absolutely brilliantly. Yesterday, after a low blood glucose reading, Dr. Powers decided to discontinue her insulin. Now, more than 48 hours without insulin, Chin Soon has a blissfully normal blood glucose of 105. Her insulin producing cells in her pancreas seem to be working normally again. All her blood glucose readings over the past 48 hours have been either normal or just a bit above normal. It's all good.

Chin Soon is also regrowing hair on her belly and where her forelegs were shaved to insert a catheter. This is a sure sign that her adrenal disease is gone.

Last night Chin Soon ran the most of all the three ferrets. She wants to go a million miles an hour, something I can't let happen just yet. Her incision is healing beautifully but it's not 100% healed yet. Fortunately Chin Soon is like Pertwee in one respect: if I put her on my shoulder and walk around she is happy to take in the world from there and calms right down. Poor Ella got pounced by Chin Soon twice and didn't get to fight back and have a wrestling match because I picked Chin Soon up and put her on my shoulder.

Anyway, I'm thrilled be these results. While Dr. Powers says it's still to early to know for sure everything at this point seems to indicate a completely successful surgery and a full recovery.

New Website For My Ferrets

2009-04-11T15:38:00.004-05:00

My ferrets web pages have been moved to their own site and my ferrets now have their own web domain. I'll be first updating the pages and then redesigning them. Right now the HTML and design is positively archaic. There will be a new look soon.

The new website is at: http://www.ferretsofdisorder.co.cc. The old pages will redirect to the new for a few days until the old domain expires. Please check it out over the next few weeks and watch the changes.

Happy Birthday Zephyr!

2009-04-11T15:30:00.003-05:00

With all the worry and concern about Chin Soon I neglected to mention something important. The fifth anniversary of Zephyr's original rescue and first vet appointment has passed. We don't know the exact date of Zephyr's birth but just like Ella she was estimated to be one year old when she was first examined by Dr. Dan Hudson. Add one to five and you get six years old. Happy Birthday Zephyr!

Zephyr is now a geriatric ferret but you could never tell be the way she looks or acts. She's an energizer weasel who keeps going and going during playtime. OK, she didn't the last few nights but now that she knows that Chin Soon is home, alive, and well I'll be she perks up and acts like her old self again.

Chin Soon Comes Home

2009-04-11T01:23:00.004-05:00

After four days in the hospital Chin Soon is finally stable. I brought her home Friday night. She is still on insulin. With a daily insulin injection her blood glucose does still bounce around but does come back into the normal range. What we are hoping is that her blood glucose stops spiking up because her pancreas is producing insulin again. I obviously don't want her to remain diabetic and to need insulin daily and regular blood glucose checks.

Zephyr has been a little out of sorts the last few days. She hasn't been playing or wrestling much and has been clinging to me. I think she missed Chin Soon. Now that she knows Chin Soon is OK things should get better.

I am checking Chin Soon's blood glucose every four hours (yes, including in the middle of the night), giving her frequent feedings of Bob Church's Chicken Gravy, and giving her the insulin injection. These are things I've never had to do before with any of my ferrets and are definitely things I am squeamish about and uncomfortable with. Unfortunately I don't see any other choice.

The good news is that Chin Soon is alert and is acting pretty much like her normal self. When I put her into a Midwest cage (without levels or hammocks) she immediately tried to climb out. After gravy it's supposed to be playtime, right? She still thinks so. Her incision is healing nicely. I'd just like to get her back to a nice, normal life. That's when I get back to a nice, normal life.

Between the surgery and complications, four days of hospitalization, the diabetes supplies, and her prescriptions the total cost is in excess of $1,400. It will get close to $1,500 with at least one follow-up visit to Dr. Powers I'm sure some people would read this and think that I am absolutely crazy to spend this kind of money on a ferret's medical care and to go through all this aftercare as well. Most pet owners will understand perfectly. Chin Soon is part of the family. She gets what she needs. Hopefully she'll end up healthy and happy again and will be around for a few more good years.

Chin Soon Not Doing Well (Post-Surgery Diabetes)

2009-04-09T07:56:00.006-05:00

If you've been reading this blog you know that Chin Soon is a 5½ year old spayed female ferret who had insulinoma and adrenal surgery on Tuesday. Her vet, Dr. Powers, found a small left adrenal tumor and an insulinoma tumor she described as "huge", "evil", and "very aggressive". It had grown up against the vena cava. There was also one smaller nodule on Chin Soon's pancreas. Dr. Powers feels she successfully removed all of the tumor and the nodule.

Chin Soon was recovering well yesterday. She had post-surgery diabetes which is something we've seen before. Her blood glucose night before last was 400. It dropped to 280 by yesterday morning and 232 by yesterday evening. Then things started going backwards. She was up to 320 by yesterday evening and the levels have kept going up. Her blood glucose this morning was 432.

Dr. Powers tells us that in cases like this, after a very large and aggressive insulinoma tumor is removed, sometimes diabetes is a permanent but manageable consequence. She is starting Chin Soon on insulin today and holding her over one more night to see how she responds. Then Chin Soon will come home but we will have to monitor her blood glucose regularly and give her a small quantity of insulin daily. She'll have to go back to Dr. Powers for a recheck her next week.

This is a setback we really did not expect or plan for. I'll post more when I know more.

Chin Soon Surgery Update

2009-04-08T07:49:00.007-05:00

Chin Soon had her surgery yesterday afternoon. Dr. Powers found a small growth on her left adrenal gland. She also found an insulinoma tumor which she described as "huge", "evil", and "very aggressive" which was right next to the vena cava. She was able to remove all of it as well as one more small nodule she found on Chin Soon's pancreas.

As of late last night Chin Soon was recovering well. As of early this morning things are still going well for the most part but she is severely diabetic. Her blood glucose has been as high as 400. She is on IV fluids to avoid dehydration. We've seen this before after insulinoma surgery and normally the blood glucose does come down and return to normal. I'll get another update after noon and I still hope to be able to take her home late this afternoon or this evening.

Please continue to keep Chin Soon in your thoughts. I am hoping for a speedy and complete recovery.

Chin Soon Update: Surgery Next Tuesday

2009-04-01T15:33:00.005-05:00

Chin Soon is going back to see Dr. Lauren Powers at Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Huntersville again next Tuesday. She will have surgery for both insulinoma and adrenal disease.

At her last recheck her blood glucose was still only 57. She's gained a fair amount of weight, a side effect of the pediapred (prednisolone) as well as a consequence of eating lots of high calorie chicken gravy. As a result we could increase her pediapred dosage again a little. It's still not enough. Yes, Chin Soon is bouncy and playful but her stamina still isn't what it used to be and she still slips and has hind-end weakness. Her insulinoma can't be controlled with a moderate dose of pediapred and that means it's time for surgery. We no longer have any other good options.

Her adrenal disease is progressing as well despite increasing her lupron dosage to 200mcg. She's still losing hair all over the place. The only cure for adrenal disease is surgery. The only good thing about having both diseases at once is that she will only have to go through one surgery instead of two.

I'm worried, of course. This is major surgery and there is always a risk that something can go wrong. At least I have complete confidence in Dr. Powers. She did Ella's adrenal surgery more than four years ago and Ella has been fine ever since. I'm hoping the surgery will give us several more good years with Chin Soon.

The cost? Depending on what Dr. Powers finds and how well things go it will be anywhere from $850 to $1175. There is no getting around the fact that ferrets are expensive pets and that the average ferret will have at least once health crisis requiring surgery and costing $1000 or more during their lifetime.

Anyone who is a pet owner knows that pets become family members. Medical care like this is, unfortunately, a mandatory part of being a responsible pet owner.

Please keep Chin Soon in your thoughts over the next week.

Ella is 7!

2009-03-07T20:54:00.004-06:00

A little over six years ago a stray ferret was found in Chapel Hill in poor condition. The average lifespan of a ferret that is turned loose or strays away from home is three days. You don't usually find stray ferrets, at least not alive. That ferret was picked up by a wonderful local ferret owner, Celia Wright, who named her Ella. Six years ago last Wednesday Ella went to the vet for the first time immediately after the rescue. The vet was Dr. Dan Hudson, our original vet (now retired) estimated her age at one year old. She was an adult ferret so she couldn't have been much younger than that. She could have been a little older but probably not much.

Sadly Celia passed away and I adopted her two ferrets, Ella and Zephyr, more than four years ago. We'll never know Ella's exact birthday but we've used that first vet visit and added the one year estimate to calculate her age. By that measure Ella turned seven this past week. Happy Birthday Ella!

While she's taking a snooze in the picture above Ella remains a very playful and active ferret. Oh, she's old by ferret standards but she doesn't act that way. This is despite the fact that she is blind now. She lost her eyesight gradually and adjusted brilliantly. She can run down the hall and make a turn into the living room at full speed and not run into anything. She knows exactly where things are supposed to be. We do rearrange the tunnels and toys (she likes exploring and finding where things are) but we also leave large areas where she can run to her hearts content without fear of bumping into anything. Sometimes she does go bump but she rarely misjudges. Ella also knows exactly where to find her gravy at the beginning of playtime and runs out of the cage and to the bowl and maximum speed.

We leave a three story ferret condo at the edge of the couch which she climbs, either on the inside or the outside, to get up on the furniture. We don't dare move that. We also always have one of her two favorite blankets where Ella likes to sleep. Other than that she gets around by sense of smell. She also comes when called so her hearing is fine.

Ella also still loves rough play. Tonight she did sock drags: literally hanging onto my sock with my foot in it while I drag her around. She also grabbed onto my thumb with both forepaws and her teeth (without biting down at all) and I literally lifted her off the couch by one thumb. She's strong and can hang on for quite some time if she wants to. Ella shows no real signs of slowing down at all, a good indication that she's still healthy. The only other health issue I am aware of is an enlarged spleen, something that's common in older ferrets. It doesn't seem to bother her at all.

I've had some seventh ferret birthdays that were bittersweet due to deteriorating health and I've had some ferrets where it was all joy. Ella's seventh (whichever day it really was or is or will be) is a happy occasion.

Chin Soon Update: Insulinoma and Adrenal Disease

2009-02-15T12:21:00.008-06:00

Last Tuesday I made the three hour drive to get Chin Soon to a vet I really trust: Dr. Lauren Powers at Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Huntersville.

During the entire time I've been in North Carolina and have owned ferrets Dr. Powers has always been our backup vet, the one Dr. Hudson would send us to when he wanted a second opinion or the one we went to when there was an emergency and a local vet simply wasn't available. She's an outstanding vet with a fantastic reputation in the ferret community but she is just plain far from home. The net result is that she always sees our ferrets when they are on death's door. OK, Pertwee lived for another four years after his visit with Dr. Powers but he wasn't expected to. It was nice, for once, to have Dr. Powers see a ferret she actually could treat. I guess I should point out that Dr. Powers did Ella's entirely successful adrenal surgery more than four years ago. That was a couple of months before I adopted Ella.

Dr. Powers confirmed what I pretty much knew: in addition to insulinoma Chin Soon has adrenal disease. Her nipples are enlarged and her hair loss is starting to look like a classic adrenal pattern. Dr. Powers also said something that Dr. Hudson said to me whenever I caught adrenal disease early: surgery will have to wait a little to make sure that it's clear which adrenal gland is enlarged. The disease has to progress far enough for the surgeon, in this case Dr. Powers, to actually be able to see that one gland is really bigger than the other. Chin Soon is looking at a combined adrenal and insulinoma surgery, essentially the same surgery Lady Ayeka had back in 2004, at a cost of around $900.

Dr. Powers also rechecked Chin Soon's blood glucose. Despite obvious clinical improvement from the pediapred it was still very low: 44. The pediapred dosage was increased to .18ml (5mg/5ml concentation), still less than a fifth of what the nightmare vet wanted to prescribe. Dr. Powers also started Chin Soon on 100mcg of Lupron (the one month depot) to relieve her adrenal symptoms. Lupron worked very well for Podo when his adrenal disease recurred late in his life.

Chin Soon also gained 110 grams in just a week, a side effect of the pediapred. The fact that she is voraciously eating Bob Church's Chicken Gravy twice a day when she gets her medication is almost certainly also contributing. She had actually lost weight this winter due to her illnesses so this weight gain is a good thing.

While the expense of surgery is going to be difficult to meet in the current economic climate at least I know Chin Soon can be treated and is being cared for by a great vet. As I noted in my last post Chin Soon is definitely feeling much better. The net result is that she's bouncing and war dancing and wrestling more. When she plays more Ella and Zephyr get excited and play with her. Things are better all around.

Chin Soon Is Feeling Much Better

2009-02-08T17:23:00.005-06:00

Chin Soon is feeling much better since starting on pediapred. I used what our original vet always used as a starting dosage: .01ml twice a day (5mg/5ml concentration) and it's pretty obvious she didn't need 10 times that much. She is very much her old self, ferreting away her favorite toys and running down the hall with abandon and, best of all, no more signs of hind end weakness.

Of course I have no idea what Chin Soon's actualy blood glucose level is at the moment. We'll know on Tuesday when she goes to see Dr. Lauren Powers, the outstanding ferret vet I've mentioned before. Then we'll know whether the pediapred dosage needs to be increased, decreased, or left alone.

Chin Soon Has Insulinoma & A Nightmare Vet Visit

2009-02-04T12:35:00.004-06:00

I'm back after a long absence... This post is long but I want to get all the facts out so please bear with me.

Chin Soon is 5½ now and until recently she has had no health problems at all other than minor vaccination reactions. Lately she's had two symptoms: hind end weakness and hair loss, almost entirely on her tail. Chin Soon has rat tail at every coat change and she always grows the hair back quickly. This winter she didn't. My fears were insulinoma and adrenal disease. I've had a couple of ferrets in the past have both at once. I also thought of lymphoma. Anyway, off to the vet...

I've been back in North Carolina for a while now but I was in a quandry about what vet to take Chin Soon too. Our original vet here, Dr. Dan Hudson, retired a few years ago. The vet we used after that rarely sees ferrets now. The other vet I really trust moved all the way across the state a few years back. There are two ferret vets left in my local area. One has a fantastic reputation in terms of care but also has a reputation for being outrageously expensive and for doing everything and anything extra to increase the bill. Another who shall remain nameless was recommended by one of the active members of the local ferret club for both quality care and reasonable prices. In the current economy I decided I really had to go to the second vet.

The new vet checked Chin Soon's fasting blood glucose which was 41 so that confirmed insulinoma. She wants to do an ultrasound to see if an adrenal tumor shows up. All well and good so far. She said some other things vis a vis adrenal treatment that made no sense to me but I filed them for later research. She called in a perscription for Pediapred which I picked up yesterday afternoon. This is where things started to go seriously wrong.

The dosage with the perscription was 1.0ml twice daily, 5mg/ml solution. Yes, 1.0 not 0.1. Every other vet I've dealt with started my ferrets at 0.1ml, rechecked the glucose, and adjusted the dosage. A dosage 10 times higher worried me greatly. I called the vet's office to confirm that this was an error and that someone slipped a digit. No, it turns out that because Chin Soon's blood glucose level was "so low" she really wanted to give her 2mg per day. I wasn't going to give that much without a second opinion
.
This morning I called that vet that had moved across the state who I really do trust. She told me that the dosage prescribed was higher than what they give with chemotherapy to destroy a ferret's immune system! While she wouldn't prescribe a dosage without a visit (and I don't blame her for
that) she read me the textbook maximum dosage and it is less than a third of what the new vet prescribed for Chin Soon.

My decision, of course, is to drive three and a half hours and to take Chin Soon to the vet I spoke to today. The new vet's dosage would actually have been dangerous if not eventually life threatening for poor little Chin Soon. Thankfully I knew enough about ferrets after 11 years of having them and going through all their medical issues with them to question that dosage. Imagine if I didn't. Imagine if I just did what the new vet said. Most people would have done just that. I would have 10 years ago.

This incident, this nightmare vet, reinforced my belief that ferret medicine is a specialty and that ferrets have to go to vets who have both experience and a high success rate with ferrets. Thankfully there is an active ferret community online and in most major cities which allows ferret owners to network and get the information I need.

I also realize just how spoiled the ferrets and I were when we were in Green Bay and had a great ferret vet 20 minutes away.

Pressure Cooker On The Stove For Bob Church's Chicken Gravy

2008-08-29T13:20:00.006-05:00

Next week will be five and a half years since Ella's first vet visit after Celia Wright rescued her. At that time the vet guesstimated her age to be one year old. Yep, she's definitely a senior ferret now.

Let's assume that guess on her age was spot on. Ella was an adult ferret at the time so she couldn't be much younger. She's also a Marshall Farms ferret. I've had ferrets live to be up to 10 years old but I've never had a Marshall's see their seventh birthday. Whether that's just plain bad luck or something about the way the country's largest ferret breeder raises their kits is an open question.

I'm also certainly more knowledgeable about ferret health and nutrition than I once was. I'd like to believe I can keep my current ferrets, all of whom were bred by Marshall Farms, healthy and happy a bit longer simply by doing preventative things and giving them the best possible food.

I've mentioned Bob Church's Chicken Gravy before as something I give ailing and recovering ferrets. I've also mentioned Pam Sessoms' Pressure Cooker Method as the easiest way to make it. A number of ferret owners in the area, including Pam, do give gravy in limited quantities to their healthy ferrets each day. Pam did this for both Ella and Zephyr in the time she took care of them after Celia Wright became ill and before I adopted them. Since they already had the gravy habit I kept it going.

Here we are, nearly four years later, and all three ferrets have been happy and healthy pretty much the whole time. Ella has had no recurrence of adrenal disease in nearly four years and neither Zephyr nor Chin Soon has had any serious health problems as of yet. Does feeding them a little gravy every day in addition to kibble help? A lot of ferret owners and some vets seem to think so. It's certainly worth the extra bit of work every month or two to make it for them.

I know one thing for certain: I'd like to see these three Marshall Farms bred ferrets all have seventh birthdays. I'd like them to be happy and healthy at eight and nine too.

Chin Soon Is Five

2008-07-05T12:07:00.006-05:00

It was late in May, 2004 that my housemate, working with a local pet store that has since closed, rescued a little ferret that had been left at a local martial arts studio that has also since closed. That ferret, Chin Soon, was 11 months old at the time. Assuming that was accurate Chin Soon almost certainly had her fifth birthday recently. My youngest and often craziest ferret is now middle aged. Where did the time go?

The good news is that Chin Soon is happy, healthy, and still fiercely protecting her polar fleece toys. The only other ferret I've had who was so incredibly protective of and possessive of certain toys was Nyssa. Woe to any ferret who touched Nyssa's favorite stuffed doggie. Chin Soon isn't aggressive the way Nyssa was. If Zephyr steals a toy she'll patiently wait and steal it back the second Zephyr abandons it and make absolutely certain it's in one of her favorite hiding places, mostly under the coffee table. You can see her poking her head out from under the coffee table in the picture. She will then check on it regularly to make sure it stays put. That's my Chin Soon.

Happy Birthday little girl!

Anniversaries

2008-03-27T23:09:00.004-05:00

It's the time of year for anniversaries. Last month was three years since Ella (asleep, above) and Zephyr were brought to my home. They've been absolutely wonderful additions to my household ever since. Earlier this month was five years since Ella was first rescued by Celia Wright, their late previous owner. Ella was estimated to be one year old at the time by a very knowledgeable vet. That means her sixth birthday has probably come and gone too and she is now a senior ferret. Thankfully she remains happy and healthy so far. Next week will be four years since Zephyr was rescued. She, too, was estimated to be a year old. That means she's probably right around five years old.

How time flies...

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My Ferrets' New Favorite Treat

2008-01-08T16:31:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't posted regularly about my ferrets in a long time. Time permitting I will try and keep this blog updated regularly again.

Totally Ferret Dooker Delights are the new favorite treat for all three of my little weasels. The oh-so-pickly Chin Soon loves them and Zephyr even turned her nose up once when offered her old favorite, Bacon & Beef Bandits, because she wanted a Totally Ferret treat and nothing but. Interestingly these are treats designed for ferrets with IBD and food allergies. They're healthy for any ferrets, though, and are high in protein and contain no sugar.

I may have to try some of the new turkey and venison formula Totally Ferret food as part of their food mix since they seem to love these treats so much.

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Intermittent Tummy Trouble

2007-10-02T10:59:00.000-05:00

Ella has been having an upset stomach on and off for a quite some time. All three ferrets are due for annual checkups and vaccinations shortly so I will be mentioning it to her vet. I'm not expecting anything to be done, though.

Lady Ayeka had on and off diarrhea for years. Her vets never found anything wrong and any treatment that was tried had little effect. The problem always disappeared in a day or two and always came back a few days later. Ella's issue is exactly the same. Still, we'll see if the vet can come up with anything. In the meanwhile Ella is as playful and affectionate as ever and shows no other symptoms, just like Ayeka before her.

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Chin Soon at Four

2007-08-08T13:36:00.000-05:00

In June of 2004 a little frightened ferret came home with my housemate. This little ferret had been owned by a Korean family and when a family member who didn't like ferrets moved into the household their pet had to go. Chin Soon was dumped at a local martial arts studio who in turn called a local pet store who in turn called my housemate. Chin Soon was 11 months old at the time.

If you've done the math you'd already know Chin Soon probably turned four last month even if that wasn't the title of this post. (I don't know her exact date of birth.) The ferret who was afraid of everything, especially other ferrets, is now a rough and tumble, oh-so-playful little weasel who enjoys wrestling with Ella and Zephyr. So far she has thankfully been happy and healthy and has been an absolute joy.

Happy belated birthday, Chin Soon!

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The Three Remaining Ferrets Are Doing Fine

2007-05-25T17:44:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a very long time since I posted to the ferrets' blog. It's a long story. I will be posting again, at least from time to time. I have recently updated the ferrets' website, both text and some pictures, so a vist there may be in order for those of you who can't get enough cute ferrets stories and photos.

Ella, Zephyr, and Chin Soon are all doing fine. They are healthy and happy. I now have medical records for Ella and Zephyr from the time Celia originally rescued them. Ella is at least five years old now. She's still as bouncy and playful as ever.

I'll post more soon. For now here is a new picture of Chin Soon being a stand up ferret :)

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More Vaccinations, No Reactions, and Traveling Weasels

2006-08-23T16:34:00.000-05:00

Zephyr and Ella had their distemper vaccinations yesterday, thankfully with no reactions this time. Both Ella and Zephyr were pretreated with Benadryl and they were just fine. I waited an hour and a quarter at Dr. Wolfe's office. I probably would have waited just a bit longer still to be absolutely sure with Zephyr but it was closing time by then.

Poor Zephyr hates being in the little travel cage. Ella and Chin Soon are great travelers but Zephy gets really unhappy when she's cooped up.

The good news is that I've pretty much learned what it takes to make a Zephyr-proof barrier just about anywhere. This means that the ferrets can pretty much always get a safe play time wherever we are. The bad news is Zephyr proof also means a barrier I can't get past. Oh well... it's worth it to keep the little weasels safe.

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A Very Delayed Vaccination Reaction

2006-08-11T01:03:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday my three little weasels went to the vet for their rabies vaccinations. All three have a history of reactions, albeit mild ones, so all three were pretreated with Benadryl. I talked about waiting a full hour after vaccination to make sure there was no reaction. Dr. Wolfe, who is certainly an outstanding and very experienced ferret vet, thought that half an hour is enough. I still remember making a wild U-turn on Chapel Hill Road (NC 54) to get Adric back to Dr. Hudson when he reacted to his rabies shot nearly an hour after it was given. I waited the hour.

Well... after an hour Chin Soon, Ella, and Zephyr all seemed find. I took them home. Just as I was arriving, nearly an hour and a half after being vaccinated, Zephyr started vomiting. She ended up with diarrhea and projectile vomit. I called Dr. Wolfe, gave Zephyr some more Benadryl orally at her direction, and Zephyr and I headed back to see her again. Thankfully Zephy was fine after that and was quite bright and looked really good when Dr. Wolfe saw her again. We got home sometime around 7:30 that evening.

Zephyr has been fine ever since and was very much her bratty, playful, rambunctious self on Thursday evening.

Dr. Wolfe never heard of a reaction that long after vaccination. Neither had I. Next time we pretreat Zephyr with dexamethasone and I bring plenty of reading material to wait the full 90 minutes to make sure she's OK.

Why do I always have the ferrets with weird medical issues?

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Hard To Believe My Mom Sent This

2006-06-30T22:29:00.000-05:00

My mom is starting to "get it" when it comes to pets. Both my brother and I are pet owners. My brother and his family have dogs and I, of course, have my ferrets. My mom started asking about Nyssa during her illness, which I appreciated. During her visit a few weeks ago was clearly uncomfortable with the little weasels who very much wanted to make friends and play with her.

My mom really surprised me when Nyssa had an accident on me. She actually helped with the other ferrets while I got Nyssa and myself cleaned up. She kept referring to Nyssa as "the little one" and was amazed how a ferret who looked so emaciated and "pitiful" managed to play and run around. My mom saw one of Nyssa's very last good, active periods. Since then she also asked about how Chin Soon, Ella, and Zephyr were taking Nyssa's passing and sounded sincerely concerned.

This next piece, which she saw and sent to me via e-mail, shows she really is starting to understand even if she doesn't appreciate animals herself. A few months ago I would never have believed my mom would have sent this:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets
They live here. You don't.

If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)

I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

When it comes to my ferrets all four of the above statements are definitely true.

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Ferrets' Reaction To Loss

2006-06-25T01:10:00.000-05:00

The reaction of the other three ferrets to Nyssa's passing has been interesting. Ella and Chin Soon clearly bonded to Nyssa. Zephyr didn't and mainly saw Nyssa as a rival. Zephyr, predictably, has been unaffected. Ella went for several days of not wanting to play much and acting depressed. She's back to her old self now.

Chin Soon was the most interesting. She's an absolute sweetheart, very bonded to me and follows me around like a puppy at times, very energetic and playful, but not as bright as the others. Even though she got to sniff Nyssa's body I think it didn't dawn on her that Nyssa was really dead and not going to ever wake up again. It's only when I put out Nyssa's favorite fleece blanket, washed, with no Nyssa odor and no Nyssa, that Chin Soon understood. She magically became un-litter trained outside the cage, an anger/grief reaction I've seen in ferrets before. She'd look right at me while doing the wrong thing as well -- which I take as she still knows it's wrong but was deliberately displeasing me. Last night she finally started using the litter pan again. Adric did exactly the same thing when Pertwee died and again when Avon died. Ferrets have intelligence and definitely have feelings.

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Old Brown Ferret

2006-06-23T17:46:00.000-05:00

The following are some changed and rearranged words to Ian Anderson's song "Old Black Cat", lamenting the passing of his cat, Mauser. I don't have any songwriting ability but this piece is beautiful and with some new words I've adapted it for Nyssa. The song can be found on the album Rupi's Dance, which I highly recommend. My aplogies to Mr. Anderson if he doesn't like people mucking about with his lyrics. I just like the song and loved Nyssa.
My old brown ferret passed away last Wednesday
She never knew what a hard day was
Woke up late and war-danced with friends
If questioned "Why?" answered "Just Because"

She rarely spoke preferring silence
Eight lost years was all she had
Occasionally sneaked some stolen treats
Sometimes was good, sometimes was bad

My old brown fert wasn't much of a looker
You could pass her by -- just a quiet shadow
Got pushed around by Tenchi and Ayeka
Didn't seem to mind much -- just the way life goes

Padded around in furry slippers
Wrestled with her ferret friends
She played it cool with burgundy-eyed innocence
Receiving gladly what the good Lord sends

Didn't give her a birthday present
Like a fleecy sleep sack nice and new
Thought she'd make it through the summer
I guess this song will have to do

My old brown fert...
Old brown ferret...

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Goodbye Nyssa (1998-2006)

2006-06-14T23:54:00.000-05:00

In recent days Nyssa was suffering. Sunday she stopped eating on her own. On Sunday night she was miserable and spent a huge part of the night asleep on my lap. She looked to me for comfort. I called and left a message for her vet, Dr. Sarah Wolfe. I coped the best I could. On Monday she perked up, started eating gravy and kibble again, and seemed better, but her rear legs could still barely hold her and she kept falling over. She was so very, very skinny. Dr, Wolfe called to see how she was doing. Since there was some improvement we decided to wait until her Wednesday vet appointment to make any decision.

Last night though Nyssa was still eating she was miserable again. She once again went to sleep with me on the couch. When she did get up and eat she couldn't stand long enough to finish and kept falling over, getting up, eating a bit, and falling over again. I decided I had finally reached the point where I was no longer extending her life but rather I was extending her suffering and death. I had to love her enough to let her go. Today at Dr. Wolfe's office I did just that.

Nyssa was eight years old. She lived 19 months with lymphoma and fought for her life every single day. Even today at the vet's office she was alert and wanted to get out and explore. She just didn't have the strength to do it any more.

When Nyssa was just four months old she had an intestinal blockage. I nursed her through it and we managed to get it to pass without surgery. At that time she really bonded to me. I fell asleep watching her at one point and woke up to her licking my face. She's been super close to me ever since and she was very special to me. As much as I love the other ferrets and as much as this was expected I am going to miss Nyssa terribly.

Today was the end of an era. The last ferret from my original 1998 group is gone.

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Chin Soon and Nyssa's Latest Vet Visit

2006-06-09T00:32:00.000-05:00

Chin Soon and Nyssa went to the vet on Tuesday. Chin Soon had her distemper shot (an annual event) and thanks to pretreatment with Benadryl she didn't have an adverse reaction this year. She was bouncing all over the place and Dr. Wolfe, who more than not sees very sick ferrets, really enjoyed her. The little monster jumped up high to pull Dr. Wolfe's jacket off a doorknob where it was hanging. Later she managed to squeeze under a door and lead us on a merry chase through the office. I think she had great fun at our expense.

Nyssa, OTOH, was there for last desperate measures. She's lost another 139g and is under half her normal body weight at just 616g. She looks like a walking skeleton. She's incontinent now and her diarrhea can no longer be controlled -- all part of the lymphoma destroying her digestive system. She was overdue for a depo medrol shot (long lasting steroid) and that seems to have perked her up a bit. She's eating like there is no tomorrow and still fighting for life. My mom, who visited from last Thursday through this past Monday, found her pitiful to look at but was amazed at how much she acted like a normal ferret despite being so emaciated. Nyssa hasn't given up so I can't give up on her just yet. Her time is coming soon, though. By any standard she is an old ferret so I guess I should be grateful that she's hung around this long and maintained some quality of life. It's still hard.

Tonight Nyssa did eat some gravy, took Ferretvite (a high calorie supplement) as a treat twice, plus begged for a treat and took a Raisin Bandit. She also ate lots of kibble, drank lots of water, and ran around. That doesn't sound much like a ferret in the final stage of cancer and near the very end of her life, does it?

Technorati Tags: ferrets pets old pets veterinarian lymphoma little monster

From Ella Bear To Barely Ella

2006-05-21T16:15:00.000-05:00

It's springtime and summer is rapidly approaching. Most ferrets put on weight for winter and lose weight for summer. Ella does this in rather dramatic style. In the winter she looks like a miniature version of my Kodo, who was my "Big Bear", weighing in at over two kilos (around 4½ lbs.) in the winter. Now she's a thin, sleek little weasel. Oh, she's healthy, happy, playful and bouncy. She looks great. She did the same last year so I'm not worried at all. It's just a big change.

Yes, I know I owe everyone new pictures. I promise to take some and post them soon, including one or two of the lightweight summertime version of Ella.

Nyssa is still here but she's struggling at times. Her tummy troubles are nearly constant now and her rear legs are so weak she falls in her own mess a lot. I clean her up regularly and she hates that. I also wash ferret bedding every day. Despite that Nyssa remains active, likes to be held, eats like a horse, and generally shows no sign of giving up just yet. Last night Zephyr tried to wrestle with her and Nyssa attacked back, a very good sign.

Chin Soon remains my lovable little monster and is just fine.

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More Vet Visits for Nyssa and Chin Soon

2006-05-11T17:37:00.000-05:00

On Monday I took Nyssa to see Dr. Sarah Wolfe, her vet, once again. Nyssa was given a melatonin implant to try and relieve the symptoms of her adrenal disease. I gave her a raisin flavored Bandit treat and she happily chewed on it while Dr. Wolfe injected the implant with a truly huge needle. Dr. Wolfe was going to go out and buy some raisin Bandits that night since they worked so well, keeping Nyssa distracted and happy. We opted for melatonin over lupron, which we had originally planned to give Nyssa, due to high cost and Dr. Wolfe's experience that melatonin often works just as well. If it doesn't work for her we will try lupron next.

The good news is that Nyssa actually gained just a few grams, and now weighs in at 755g. That's still incredibly thin for my once huge girl but it means she continues to hang in there better than anyone could have hoped for. Since her birthday a week ago Nyssa has only had two bad days. Zephyr, Nyssa's former arch rival and sometime nemesis, seems to have replaced Ella in watching after Nyssa and cuddling with her when Nyssa doesn't feel good. It's great to see those two getting along so well.

Chin Soon will be the next ferret to visit Dr. Wolfe in a couple of weeks. Nothing is wrong. Chin Soon is just coming due for her annual vaccinations for rabies and distemper. This also means that nearly two years have passed since my former housemate brought the little monster home. How time flies.

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A Gift For Nyssa's Birthday

2006-05-05T01:17:00.000-05:00

Nyssa did get a gift for her eighth birthday -- a nicer one than I could have given her. She felt better on her birthday evening and was able to take part in ferret playtime for a total of maybe 45-50 minutes. Her beloved doggie was checked on and moved for safe keeping. Nyssa ran around and even took some revenge on Zephyr for jumping her.

Seeing Nyssa playing and running makes all the efforts to keep her going worthwhile. Next on the agenda: a visit to Dr. Wolfe on Tuesday for a melatonin implant which we hope will help relieve her adrenal disease symptoms.

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Happy Birthday, Nyssa -- She's 8!

2006-05-04T12:25:00.000-05:00

Today is Nyssa's birthday. She is eight years old. Happy Birthday, Nyssa!

In one respect I'm really happy. Nyssa's vets didn't think she'd live to see her seventh birthday and here she is at her eighth. It's a bittersweet day because Nyssa's long battle with lymphoma and now adrenal disease is really taking a toll on her. She had not been feeling well the last 24 hours and I am very worried about her at the moment. Nyssa has surprised me by bouncing back beforeso maybe she has one more little miracle in her.

I'm already spoiling Nyssa rotten so I haven't figured out anything extra special I can do for her today.

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Ella In Charge, Nyssa Bounces Back Yet Again

2006-04-23T16:36:00.000-05:00

Nyssa has done well for three days running now which is just fantastic as far as I am concerned. On Thursday evening she ran and played for about 45 minutes. She managed three shorter runs totaling an hour or so Friday night. That run included a wrestling match with Ella. I never see those two go at it, at least not recently. Last night Nyssa didn't run as long but she did relocate her doggie and play. This morning I found her up in a hammock which means she is climbing again.

The other ferrets reacted by being extra playful on Thursday and Friday nights. If Nyssa feels up to playing with them they seem to be quite happy about it. A series of wrestling matches determined what I expected to happen eventually: Ella, my seemingly gentle sweetheart, is now top of the pecking order. Nyssa actually yielded to her, something she has never done with the others, and did so without screaming or becoming upset. Ella had no problem getting Zephyr and Chin Soon to yield as well after much chatter and tussle. Actually Ella was quiet. Chin Soon and Zephyr vocalized their displeasure at how things were going.

Hopefully over the next couple of days I can take some new pictures and post them.

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Nyssa: A Few Good Days, A Lot of Bad Ones

2006-04-20T02:59:00.000-05:00

Monday night was Nyssa's best night in a while. She stayed awake and played and explored for maybe 45 minutes. Sadly most of the other days haven't been so good. Going to the litter pan is mostly always painful for her now and she's incontinent more than not. Her activity level is pretty low most of the time. She still eats well and gets all excited when I say "gravy" and then make some for her.

My fear with Nyssa is that I am rapidly approaching if not at the point where I am no longer extending her life but rather prolonging her death. All of my other ferrets who have died have sent me clear signals that they were done. Nyssa hasn't. She isn't giving up yet. How can I?

I'm suffering from insomnia tonight so I've checked on Nyssa a couple of times. I found the ferrets in two groups of two: Ella and Chin Soon were curled up in the hammock at the top of the cage. Nyssa and Zephyr were cuddled together in bedding at the bottom. This really shows how much things have changed between Zephyr and Nyssa in the last year. I think that's a good thing for both of them.

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Energizer Ella; Day To Day With Nyssa

2006-04-12T14:09:00.000-05:00

Lately Ella has been my Energizer Weasel. She is now as often the last ferret standing after four or more hours of play as not. Up until now that role was mainly filled by Chin Soon, who is suddenly sharing it. Zephyr, who used to share the role with Chin Soon, has certainly been energetic, but three or four hours of rough and tumble is enough for her.

Nyssa's health continues to deteriorate. There have been periods where he hind legs are nearly or completely useless. That, combined with periods of incontinence and diarrhea, mean I end up cleaning up Nyssa and her bedding quite frequently. Nyssa hardly plays at this point. On the other hand she doesn't seem to be in any pain most of the time and she is still affectionate. She still eats well, especially her gravy, most of the time.

These problems come and go for Nyssa. I'll see her dragging herself in the morning and then find that she has climbed the ramps and is in a hammock with the other ferrets in the afternoon.

Nyssa still isn't telling me it's time to go. I am hoping the lupron, which we are still waiting for, may help her restore some of her muscle mass and give her a bit more strength. Realistically, though, I know her time is running out. So long as Nyssa refuses to give up I have to do the same. It's just hard to see such a stubborn and strong willed little ferret struggling like this.

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Chin Soon and Nyssa Go To The Vet

2006-03-30T00:45:00.000-06:00

Chin Soon and Nyssa went to see Dr. Sarah Wolfe, their vet, today.

For Nyssa it has been more than 16 months since being diagnosed with lymphoma. She has managed to maintain her weight at 753 grams (1 2/3 lbs.) over the past two months after a long period of weight loss. (Thank you, Bob Church's Chicken Gravy). She also now has at least a couple of masses in her abdomen. Dr. Wolfe is now certain Nyssa has adrenal disease too. Nyssa's left gland adrenal was removed four and a half years ago and there is no way she could survive a second surgery at this point. Up until now Nyssa's hair loss had been thought to be either adrenal or a side effect of prolonged high dosages of steroids (depo medrol plus prednisolone). Nyssa has had lots of lots of nasty black ear wax requiring daily ear cleanings and Dr. Wolfe told me that's another adrenal symptom.

Nyssa received her depo medrol injection today and Dr. Wolfe has ordered lupron to start as soon as it arrives to hopefully relieve adrenal symptoms. Podo was in the same situation when he was nine and a half and the lupron worked wonders for him. Other than that Nyssa's medication has worked well and we are staying the course. The one other change is that I also have permission to giver her a higher dose of pain medication if Nyssa should need it. She will likely sleep on the higher dosage but at least she'd be comfy.

Finally, Nyssa has been having pain defecating. She's been on Kaopectate twice a day. If I reduce her dosage she has terrible diarrhea and becomes incontinent. I had discussed her previous diarrhea/stomach medication, diarsanyl, which Dr. Rosing had given her in Cincinnati with Dr. Wolfe. Diarsanyl worked well for both Nyssa and Lady Ayeka. Dr. Wolfe has never used it before so she did some research and... it turns out it's horse paste! It's mostly made from clay and glycerin. It does coat the GI tract, it does help with diarrhea, and it may well be gentler than Kaopectate. So... it's on order and we'll switch Nyssa back to it, mixed with water to create the thick brown liquid form that she and Lady Ayeka had before. Dr. Wolfe called it "hokey medicine" but there is clinical evidence it works and if it's easier on Nyssa she is all for it.

All of this adds up to relieving symptoms and keeping Nyssa as comfy as possible for how ever long she has left. Dr. Wolfe really didn't expect to be writing new renewals for Nyssa's prescriptions at all. Nyssa is simply amazing everyone. She is still active and at times downright playful. She's run around carrying her doggie twice this week and has even played with Chin Soon some. We're just over a month from Nyssa's eighth birthday. She wasn't expected to see her seventh.

Little Miss Chin Soon has fits of something that sounds like something halfway between coughing and choking, a really nasty hacking sound. She's had these since I adopted her. Lately these episodes have gotten more frequent, as in once or twice daily and I've started to get worried. These episodes always happen when Chin Soon is resting, not when she is running around like a little hellion. I pick her up and pat her back, kind of like burping a baby, and it usually stops quickly.

Dr. Dan Hudson, our original vet in North Carolina (now retired), attributed these attacks to a partially collapsed trachea and said that if they get worse or if she has difficulty breathing to bring her back. That was in the summer of 2004. Dr. Wolfe disagrees with that diagnosis. She says the pat on the back would make a collapsed trachea worse, not better, and the fact that it only happens at rest isn't consistent with a collapsed trachea either. Dr. Wolfe also said a radiograph can often be deceiving when diagnosing something like this.

Dr. Wolfe mentioned a procedure, the name of which escapes me at the moment, which is the equivalent of a real time X-ray and would give a definitive diagnosis. I would have to take Chin Soon to Madison for that. Dr. Wolfe is only going to recommend that if things get any worse. Her guess is a birth defect of some sort, possibly something malformed around her larynx. She also said there is a vet in Florida who does microsurgery in cases like this and if it becomes severe that is where she would send me with Chin Soon.

It sounds like Chin Soon could become one expensive little weasel if things do get worse. I've called Chin Soon "Ms. Pertwee" because of her super high energy level and her personality. I hope she doesn't imitate Pertwee's penchant for weird and expensive illnesses.

Playtime was normal tonight: lots of high energy antics from Zephyr and Chin Soon, lots of affection from Ella and Nyssa.

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Nyssa's Best Night In a Long Time

2006-03-17T23:57:00.000-06:00

Nyssa had her best night in ages last night, running for about 90 minutes. I got to watch her running through the tunnels, something she hasn't done in about two months. She was stealing toys from Chin Soon and even came to me and rolled over looking for a belly rub. Her tummy is usually tender and she hasn't wanted those in months. I was gentle and she seemed happy. It was like a trip back in time to when Nyssa was happy and healthy. I really treasured it.

Tonight, though, was not so good and I had to give her pain medication. He diarrhea was really terrible and she didn't eat quite as much gravy as usual. I did see her eating kibble, though, so I think she did eat until she was full. Still, I am seeing all the signs of running out of time with her.

With lymphoma there are always good days and bad. I'm just happy that Nyssa had one more really, really good day and that I have what I need to keep her comfy.

For those of you who haven't linked through to Nyssa's web page, here is a picture of what she looked like maybe seven years ago as a young, strong ferret:

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Zephyr the Tunnel Weasel

2006-03-15T12:00:00.000-06:00

One of the first toys we bought for Tenchi back in the spring of 1998 was a Super Pet Fun-nel Ferret Playground. It was the old version with the tubes that didn't bubble out. It was an immediate hit and the set got expanded to include just about every accessory and tube and ball Super Pets makes. All four of my current ferrets still love the tubes and tunnels. Zephyr is my ultimate tunnel ferret. She loves the things and if I rearrange them regularly that means plenty of energy and play for her.

Pertwee was the first ferret I had that loved to interact with me through the tunnels. He'd be inside scratching at the tunnel walls and I was expected to scratch back. He'd stick his little nose through the holes and I was supposed to stick my finger in. He'd then gently nip at my finger and try to get me to follow him to a different hole. Zephyr loves the same games and she's the only other ferret I've had who plays them with me. She also likes to wrestle and chase with the other ferrets in the tunnels and likes me to lift up or rough up the soft, flexible tunnels when she's in them. It's all great fun for her.

On a slightly less happy Zephyr note she's had an upset tummy since at least yesterday. If it isn't better by tonight I'll have to call for a vet appointment. Nyssa hasn't been to the vet in over two months and she really needs to go back too. Nyssa is needing her pain meds more frequently and I need to discuss how to go forward with pain management for her as things get worse with Dr. Wolfe. Nyssa also needs a new prescription for prednisolone soon. She's out of refills. I don't think either Dr. Wolfe or Dr. Weston before that thought Nyssa would need more. The good news is that she is still here and she does.

Last night after four hours of play Zephyr and Chin Soon still were ready for more. I wasn't. I was worn out. That's what life with high energy ferrets, my little wired weasels, is like.

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The Queen In Her Castle (Another Nyssa Update)

2006-03-09T11:03:00.000-06:00

Nyssa has started climbing to the top of the cage most of the time to sleep again. There is a hanging sleep sack in the shape of a castle that came with Podo and Kodo when I adopted them. Nyssa has claimed it as her own, though other ferrets are certainly welcome to curl up with her. A couple of times I've seen Nyssa just poke her head out a little bit to take in the world. If she sees me and I say "gravy" she jumps right out. I'll have to try and capture a picture of the queen in her castle :)

Nyssa had a very mixed night last night. The first thing I saw was that she had horrible yellow diarrhea. I have increased her medication for her stomach again to combat that. She still had diarrhea overnight but the color is back to normal. If she isn't doing better by tonight I'll go back to the level she was at before Bob Church's Chicken Gravy became the main thing in her diet.

Anyway, Nyssa ate her gravy as always and then ran around exploring. She also wanted to be picked up and carried around some. It was a good little run for her. Later on Ella, Zephyr, and Chin Soon were all asleep in the top hammock in the cage and I decided to put Nyssa in the hammock, close the cage, and call it a night. I heard Nyssa moaning. She did that a few times so I got some torbugesic (pain killer) for her after moving her to the middle hammock by herself under an old sweater of mine to keep her warm. She woke up and was looking at me so I gave her some gravy which she ate ravenously.

With torb and gravy in her system Nyssa felt much better and wanted to play so I opened up the cage again. Nyssa was full of it. She checked on her doggie, stole some toys from Chin Soon, and generally was more alive than she'd been in a while. She also had another chance to be carried around. It's just a pity it took torb to do that. Anyway, it was the first greater than 30 minute run and play for Nyssa in some time. That was definitely worth staying up for.

This morning Nyssa was the queen in her castle again when I came out. When she saw me she came out straight away to tell me she wanted gravy, which she ate in her usual enthusiastic way.

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Polar Fleece Wars

2006-02-28T14:43:00.000-06:00

The last few nights Zephyr has been digging out Chin Soon's precious polar fleece toys from the hiding place under the curio cabinet near the window in the living room. OK, the toys belong to all the ferrets but Chin Soon is convinced they are hers and hers alone and hoards them jealously. I sometimes make it worse by throwing them across the room, sending Chin Soon on a mad dash to collect the errant toy before Zephyr or Nyssa does. Chin Soon ended up relocating them from under one curio cabinet to the other to try and keep them from Zephy. She's really funny.

I think Nyssa is still alpha and still rules the roost despite everything. When someone tries to wrestle with Nyssa and she's not up for it she lets out a loud squeak to express her displeasure. Well... Chin Soon and Ella have started imitating Nyssa's squeak when wrestling. I've gone running only to see Nyssa sleeping comfortably and two other ferrets having a good time wrestling.

Nyssa started taking solid treats and kibble again :) She still mostly lives on gravy and I do think that's best for her. She's up to about 10 oz. a day and this evening I'll have to start mixing in the new batch. Nyssa now wolfs down the gravy so fast she makes Pertwee-like snuffling noises. She also gets very excited when she knows it's gravy time. It's good to see Nyssa enthusiastic and energetic about something again.

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Strange Hobby

2006-02-24T22:06:00.000-06:00

A while back a friend of mine in the ferret community posted about keeping old ferrets with late stage cardiomyopathy alive and happy a kind of "strange hobby". She had one who was about 10 or 11 years old at the time. I think this applies to any person caring for any ferret that's approaching the end of their life and fighting a terminal illness.

I post more about Nyssa on this blog not because I love her more than any of my other ferrets but rather because her needs are special and she takes so much more care than the others. Yes, she's also special to me because she's been with me so long (over 7½ years) and because this is the third time I've nursed her through a health crisis. The first was a blockage when she was just four months old. The second was her recovery from adrenal surgery over four years ago. Nyssa's battle with lymphoma is, sadly, her final health crisis. She can't recover from this one.

Nyssa continues to amaze me the way she tenaciously fights when I think other ferrets would have given up. She's just skin and bones and that reminds me of Ryo-Ohki at the end of her life, yet unlike Ryo she still has an amazing appetite and does all she can to keep going by eating and drinking with great enthusiasm. I don't spoon feed her gravy like I did at first because she'll gladly dive into a bowl of the stuff and lick it clean. Here is a brand new picture of Nyssa having her lunch:

Last night she only ran around for 15 minutes or so but she split the time between exploring and literally running and playing with Chin Soon. That was really good to see. So long as I can keep Nyssa happy and her quality of life good I feel that all my efforts are really being rewarded.

Sure Ella, Zephyr, and Chin Soon are playful and are more fun to have around. Nyssa will follow me, is affectionate, wants to be held, and generally shows she knows who cares for her and how much she appreciates what I do for her. The time, effort, and money I spend on Nyssa are all very much worthwhile and I'll do all I can to keep her happy for as long as possible.

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Ice Dancing and Weasel War Dancing

2006-02-20T13:53:00.000-06:00

Last night's main event in NBC's Winter Olympics coverage was ice dancing, which is absolutely beautiful to watch. The ferrets did some dancing of their own, which is fun to watch. Ferret playtime was limited to about four hours because Summer was absolutely exhausted. Zephyr still had energy at that point. I think all the ferrets were glad to have Summer around again this weekend. Two people to play with and shower them with attention are probably better than one in any case.

Nyssa had a rough night last night and Summer saw her at pretty much her absolute worst. She still had a voracious appetite for four feedings of gravy plus a couple of Ferretvite treats but she was shivering and looked pretty miserable a lot of the time. She certainly didn't run around much and Summer and I did discuss the end for her. Today, though, Nyssa is feeling much, much better and my little intrepid explorer was back, looking bright eyed and chipper. If Nyssa hangs in there for exactly 10 more weeks she'll be eight years old. Today also marks 15 months since she was diagnosed with lymphoma. As I've written before Nyssa is one stubborn little weasel who never gives up. So long as she's eating well on her own, playing, exploring, and generally not showing signs of pain I plan on doing all I can for her and continuing to spoil her.

Chin Soon, as usual, is my frenetic ferret with the craziest war dance. Ella is just plan adorable, whether she's being bouncy and playful or cuddly and sweet. She also did her imitation of the Podo and Kodo bounce last night.

All in all I think the combination of ice dancing and weasel war dancing is a lot of fun for all involved. I'll try to get some new pictures this evening.

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Olympic Ferret Playtime

2006-02-17T11:40:00.000-06:00

Chin Soon Takes The Gold

Nyssa started out looking pretty good on Tuesday evening. Chin Soon even got to play with her a little, a small game of chase. Nyssa ran for no more than 15 minutes and spent the rest of the night curled up in the blue soft tube. She seemed fine all things considered.

I had Energizer weasels Wednesday night. At the end of the Olympic coverage (12:30 AM) I had to put the two that were still running, Ella and Chin Soon, to bed anyway because I was beyond wiped out. Ella did take one nap. Chin Soon was literally non-stop, though she was pretty mellow at the end as even she has limits. Still, for energy and endurance Chin Soon takes the gold medal.

Last night I wasn't feeling well and the ferrets got out later than normal. We watched figure skating again but playtime really wasn't of Olympic proportions. The ferrets are used to a certain schedule and when they don't get it they don't run for as long. Chin Soon and Zephyr was there highest energy weasels. Nyssa, as usual, played the least. Nyssa could easily win a gold medal if eating gravy was an Olympic sport.

Summer flies in this evening and I am hoping her return into Nyssa's life stimulates my oldest ferret. I'm sure the others will be thrilled to see her as well.

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Ferrets and Figure Skating

2006-02-12T16:11:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in my Entropy (personal) blog, for two weeks every four years I turn into a couch potato who spends her time watching sports. I love the Winter Olympics. The ferrets love the Winter Olympics too. Yes, I'm serious. I know this to be an absolutely indisputable fact.

Why do the ferrets love the Olympics? If I'm home with the TV on there really is no reason the ferrets have to be caged, is there? They get to run around and play as much as they want. If I'm home and in the same room as the ferrets I'm not going to ignore them, am I? Also, what better way to spend those long commercial breaks than playing with the ferrets? They have lots of freedom and attention and yes, they love that. Chin Soon and Zephyr have boundless energy and really take advantage of the extra playtime. Ella does too but she needs more naps.

Nyssa has looked good the last week and hasn't needed her pain meds again but she's, sadly, been low energy. Summer is coming for a visit next weekend and Nyssa adores Summer so I'm hoping that stimulates her. In the meanwhile she keeps slurping lots and lots of her gravy and being affectionate so I can't complain too much. I'm just glad she's still here. I'm now counting down the weeks to her eighth birthday, something I didn't dream I'd get to celebrate. Now I think I just might. One problem: how do I do something special for a ferret who is already spoiled rotten and gets most everything she wants?

Anyway, last night's pairs figure skating short program competition was absolutely gorgeous. Ferrets and figure skating: it doesn't get any better.

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Nyssa Update

2006-02-06T12:13:00.000-06:00

Nyssa had been feeling really puny the last few days and I really thought I'd be calling Dr. Wolfe (her vet) this morning for a final appointment. Not so. Nyssa looked better last night and much, much better this morning. She was alert, bright eyed, and HUNGRY. She slurped up all the chicken gravy I warmed up for her this morning eagerly. This, of course, was a major disappointment to Ella who also loves gravy and wants her chance at leftovers and would happily lick the bowl clean.

There have been a few times that Nyssa has made me think she was at the end of her long battle with lymphoma. I know that time really is coming soon but I'm glad she bounced back at least a little again. The other ferrets, including Zephyr, have been checking up on her a lot lately so I know they were concerned too.

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Ferret Report on Groundhog Day

2006-02-02T12:22:00.000-06:00

Chin Soon Is Too Smart For Her Own Good

As I've written before, little Miss Chin Soon, my smallest ferret, clearly studied escapology and getting through unlikely tight places from Romana while the two were together. I've had to reconfigure the barrier to my kitchen and all it's hazards several times now. It never takes long for Chin Soon to figure out another way to defeat it. I'm back to the Cincinnati obstacle course style of barrier: Plexiglas with something too big and heavy for Chin Soon to move behind it.
When Chin Soon gets where she's not supposed to be it's time to play two of her favorite games: chase and hide and seek. If I don't chase her she'll come out and look up at me like I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do. If she goes into some tight place she'll poke her head out if I don't seek and try to grab her quickly enough. Tenchi used to do just the same. I really think Chin Soon wants into the forbidden zones just to play these games. The fact that she's tiny and very fast doesn't make catching her all that easy.

Nyssa Is Channeling Pertwee

Pertwee, my all time most medically challenged weasel, had chronic pancreatitis the last couple of years of his life. We had to give him pancreatic enzyme (Viokase-V, very expensive) in powdered form mixed into food so that he could digest what he ate. Pertwee loved Bob Church's Chicken Gravy and he pratically lived on the stuff later in life. He had a funny habit, though. The spoiled weasel would ignore a bowl of gravy if you set it in front of him. Spoon feed him and he'd go nuts, lick the spoon clean at breakneck speed, and then dive into the bowl and not stop until it was licked clean too. Guess what Nyssa is now doing?

Yep, Nyssa has decided that the gravy is the greatest treat in the world. Even though she hates her medicine she'll wake up and will stand up at the side of the cage waiting for medicine time at the appointed hour. Medicine, you see, is always followed by yummy gravy and lots of it. Like Pertwee, though, you have to start spoon feeding her. Like I've said before she's spoiled rotten.
Much as was the case with Pertwee I am convinced the gravy is a big part of what keeps Nyssa going and alive at this point in her life. She's so terribly skinny it's pathetic but this high protein, high calorie food gets lots of nutrition into her.

Mama Ella

Whenever a ferret was under the weather little Romana would check on them. Sometimes she'd curl up with them, wide awake but keeping the sleeping sick one company. She did that with Podo and Ayeka and before Romana died she did that with Nyssa as well. Ella, who is now very closely bonded to Nyssa, has taken over that role. If Nyssa is curled up in a blanket sleeping during playtime Ella will periodically check on her and sometimes snuggle up with her. Ella and Nyssa are often snuggled together in the cage as well. Poor Zephyr, who still doesn't care for Nyssa much, is sometimes odd ferret out when the other three sleep together. At that point she'll often decide to tolerate Nyssa after all.
Anyway, it's very cute to see how social domestic ferrets can be and how they care for one another.

Technorati Tags: ferrets pets old pets weasels spoiled brats

Nyssa Report (with Ella, Chin Soon, and Zephyr notes)

2006-01-20T18:02:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday night Nyssa actually had a really good night. She ran twice, maybe 40 minutes in all, and was my puppy again except for a brief period when she put her doggie in the bag and took revenge on Chin Soon by stealing her toys from under the curio cabinet. She also is definitely running with Ella more and those two are cuddled up sleeping together a lot now. Nyssa and Zephyr mostly avoid each other. I haven't seen Zephyr try to pick on Nyssa again. Chin Soon does try to initiate play with Nyssa all the time when Nyssa feels good but does take no for an answer :)

Ella and Chin Soon were really wild that night. Zephyr didn't run quite as much but did have some very playful periods.

On Thursday morning while I was getting ready to leave (as in packing my lunch) I heard Nyssa crying. I picked her up and she stopped crying but was shivering in my arms. After a few minutes she wanted down and I figured she needed the litter pan. She did manage to get into the litter pan but going was obviously painful for her. After that Nyssa took her meds and Ferretone and Ferretvite gratefully. She seemed more comfortable when I left.

Nyssa was good last night and seemed alert this morning. She had two short runs yesterday evening (only about 20 minutes) and she definitely seems to be in permanent puppy mode now. Then the others get jealous. The good news is I can keep them together now without Nyssa having problems. The only possible exception, Zephyr, was more independent last night. She was also the last one standing, just the opposite from the previous night.

All in all I think Nyssa's time is short and her symptoms mimic Lady Ayeka's in the last weeks of Ayeka's life. (I know, I've thought Nyssa was in serious trouble several times before now and she's still here.) The good news is that the gravy did put some weight on her and she seems to be maintaining that weight now. I think the gravy may also account for her increased energy lately. Bob Church knows his stuff.

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Super Puppies

2006-01-18T00:32:00.000-06:00

Ella and Nyssa were in super puppy mode tonight. Wherever I went they went. Nyssa was feeling pretty good and wanted attention for about an hour straight. She also curled up next to me on the couch to sleep when I watched one of the few TV programs I like.

I haven't posted any cute pictures in quite a while. Here's one of Ella:

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Very Cute Ferrets In Japan

2006-01-10T17:49:00.000-06:00

I can't read or understand a word of this Japanese blog but the ferrets in the pictures are way cute. The animation is cleverly done as well.

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Nyssa This Morning

2006-01-10T11:49:00.000-06:00

After her meds this morning Nyssa climbed up to the top hammock and snuggled up with Chin Soon. A little later she started heading down, I guess to the litter pan, while Ella started coming up from the bottom. A quick moving Ella met a slow moving Nyssa on the middle level and Ella litterally went across Nyssa to get to the water bottle, literally laying on Nyssa to drink. Nyssa started crying. She had to go to the litter pan right then and there and didn't have the strength to extricate herself from Ella. Ella didn't mean any harm and wasn't trying to pick on Nyssa.

Anyway, I cleaned up both Nyssa and the middle level. I then put Nyssa back in the bottom of the cage. She promptly, slowly, went back up the ramp, ending up in the top hammock snuggled with Chin Soon.

Poor Nyssa. She doesn't move very quickly anymore and she isn't strong anymore. She is still strong willed, though, and Ella wasn't going to change where she wanted to be or where she was going.

Technorati Tags: ferrets pets old pets

New Ferret Vet; Nyssa Is Still Doing Amazingly Well Considering

2006-01-04T13:32:00.000-06:00

Nyssa went to see her new, highly recommended ferret vet. I must say my first impression is really positive. The people who were there before me have two ferrets, one of which, a beautiful five year old white ferret girl, recently had combined adrenal and insulinoma surgery. She's obviously recovered beautifully. That was really encouraging. So... Nyssa saw Dr. Sarah Wolfe at Animal Hospital of De Pere.

Dr. Wolfe's opinion was the same as Dr. Weston's and Dr. Rosing's: yes, Nyssa has lots of enlarged stuff, including some lymph nodes. Her body temperature was low (99.7) but that isn't anything new. Her gums, especially near the broken canine tooth, are, in Dr. Wolf's words, "a disaster", which is also nothing new. She was on antibiotics for that back in October. Consdering Nyssa was diagnosed with lymphoma almost 14 months ago she is doing amazingly well. Nyssa was awake, alert, and wanted to explore at the vet's today. Since she wasn't allowed to run around she decided eating large quantities of Totally Ferret (the senior formula) was a good alternative.

Dr. Wolfe basically wants to continue doing what we've been doing. Don't change what is working well. She's calling in torbugesic (pain medication) to a pharmacy in case Nyssa needs it again.

Last night Nyssa was in rare form. I haven't seen her have that much energy in months. Chin Soon definitely noticed and at one point she started war dancing around Nyssa. I got a two second look at Nyssa's war dance for the first time since my consulting gig in Pittsburgh. Again, it's been months.

Oh, and yesterday was seven and a half years to the day since Nyssa came home with me. No, I don't put much stock in half anniversaries but with an old ferret with a dreaded disease such dates are definitely worth noting.

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Ringing In A Ferrety New Year

2006-01-01T13:37:00.000-06:00

Last night I ended up staying home (details in my Entropy blog) and it was just me and the ferrets to celebrate the New Year. The three younger weasels were totally playful and wild and pretty much kept going like Energizer bunnies for three and a half hours.

Zephyr's favorite game lately is one the late, great Pertwee loved: to go into the tunnels and have me play with her through the tunnel walls. She scratches and I scratch back, she sticks her nose in the little holes in the hard plastic tunnels and I stick a small finger in. She'll turn around and lick it or gently nip at it or go for another hole and I'm supposed to follow. When she goes into the soft tubes I lift them and tumble her. When she comes to the end we play a little hide a seek. Zephy was also incredibly affectionate and full of kisses. So was Chin Soon, for that matter, when she wasn't jumping, pouncing Ella to start a wrestling match, or relocating her polar fleece balls.

The only down note was when Ella jumped Nyssa, I think just wanting to play. Nyssa was barely awake at that point and let out a squeak. The hair on her tail stood up and she just stood there, shivering. Nyssa just wasn't ready for wild play. She rarely ever is anymore and it has to be on her own terms. Ella meant no harm but it just didn't go well. I picked Nyssa up and she just wanted to be held. She shivered a lot. It was time for her medicine maybe 20 minutes later and that, plus the "treats" that go with it (like her high calorie supplement) seemed to help. Nyssa settled down to sleep in the fleecy blanket and rested comfortable.

By 11:30 all the ferrets were crashed out but Nyssa was ready to get up again. This time Nyssa was very awake, very alert, and very playful. My old ferret and I rang in the New Year together. She played with her doggie, wanted up on the couch, wanted to be hand-fed some TF senior, and went and had three other dinner breaks. (Is this a ferret or a hobbit?) With Zephyr asleep she even decided to run through the tunnels. In many ways she really was her old self which was just plain great to see. We had a full hour of one-on-one time and for Nyssa a straight hour of play and run is very rare indeed nowadays. Ella, Chin Soon, and Zephyr were all great fun but Nyssa's finish to ferret playtime made it a very special and very happy New Year.

Nyssa was diagnosed with lymphoma in November, 2004. No ferret of mine has held on so long with this disease. Neither Nyssa's vets nor I dreamed she'd still be here in 2006 and still be playing. She's even put a couple of ounces back on, something she desperately needed to do.

I don't usually stay up late anymore so I was exhausted but happy.

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Wisconsin Weasel Report for 12/29/2005

2005-12-29T23:26:00.000-06:00

Chin Soon managed to defeat my barrier and get into the kitchen. I'll have to have a creative new barrier tomorrow for playtime. She's clearly taken lessons is escapology from Romana while I wasn't looking. Now that Romana is gone Chin Soon is clearly going to take over giving me a fright by showing up in seemingly impossible places. Thankfully she came out from behind the refrigerator on her own. Eight years of experience has taught me that ferret proofing never ends and nothing is ever really ferret proof.

Nyssa continues to do surprisingly well. She has good times and bad but tonight she was active and seemed to be in better spirits. After a day with tummy problems (lymphoma in her GI tract is getting worse) she managed to go to the litter pan normally and collect a treat. Climbing into the litter pan is sometimes tough for her nowadays but not tonight. This probably sounds trivial but having her in good spirits, playful, and affectionate is a wonderful thing to come home to after a rough day. She's also a well trained weasel and knows that going to the litter pan is the right thing. Some of my other ferrets who had problems at the end of their life and were visibly upset when they missed. Nyssa isn't that bad but she clearly is happier when she can do for herself the way she wants to.

Zephyr and Ella are both people ferrets and little attention hounds. Thankfully I seem to be able to give them enough individual attention lately to keep them happy. Zephyr is definitely giving me kisses more to show how much she appreciates. That or she wants another treat. Probably both.

All in all the ferrets seem to be at home in my new place. I wish I felt the same way...

Nyssa Is Eating On Her Own :)

2005-12-26T17:01:00.000-06:00

Nyssa is eating and drinking on her own again. I didn't rush quickly enough to give her what she wanted and Nyssa clearly decided she was hungry and the regular food mix was acceptable.

I think what happened is that Nyssa was feeling really puny and he stomach had been upset. Spoiling her and encouraging her may have gotten her past a little crisis. I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief.

At least now I don't have to come home for lunch (20 minutes each way) this week.

Spoiled Brat, Part III

2005-12-26T10:44:00.000-06:00

Nyssa, my spoiled little brat, had normal output last night and this morning for the first time in a week. She also climbed to the upper hammock for the first time in Wisconsin. She now expects me to feed her every time she wakes up. She ate quite a bit of Totally Ferret (for older pet ferrets) from my hand again this morning and she definitely seems stronger and slightly heavier. I'm going to have to buy another little bag of TF senior as well if that's all she's going to eat. Her hydration is clearly much better too.

Yeah, doing it this way is a pain but... I see real improvement in Nyssa for the first time since the move and at this point in her life that is another minor miracle.

Nyssa May Be Spoiled But It's Working Out Well

2005-12-25T23:06:00.000-06:00

The ferrets got about four hours of playtime tonight. Nyssa got up not once but twice, running around for a full hour, the most I've seen in a long time. OK, she didn't run around the whole time. She wanted me to feed her on three separate occasions. Oh, and yes, I obliged. This was a ferret that didn't want to eat or drink and appeared to be on death's door. Now she still is skin and bones but she's active, alert, and demanding. She also wanted to be played with, held, carried around... If this is what it takes to keep my old girl going into the new year I'm all for it.

The three younger ferrets were also full of it tonight. Zephyr is clearly jealous of the attention Nyssa is getting. She jumped Nyssa once and looked for attention from me about all night. I tried to give Zephyr a bunch of one on one time as well. I made sure not to neglect Chin Soon or Ella in the process. Needless to say I didn't get anything done tonight. I think the ferrets were happy about that.

Is Nyssa Spoiled Rotten?

2005-12-25T12:28:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I didn't notice Nyssa at the food bowl at all. In recent months, certainly since she broke the one canine tooth, she eats relatively slowly and, fighting lymphoma, for a long period of time. I just didn't see it yesterday. Then, at playtime when she did wake up and come out she looked thinner than ever and really weak. She did go to where I give her medicine looking for it. I'm sure what she was looking for was the Ferretone I give her to make the medicine go down easier and the Ferretvite (high calorie supplement) which she loves. After that I took out some Totally Ferret, the senior formula for older ferrets, and offered in by hand. She ate piece after piece eagerly for maybe 20 minutes and took water from a small bowl I gave her.

Now it seems the only way Nyssa will eat is if I hand feed her. There are three possible explanations: 1) She really is at the end and is only eating to please me, 2) She is doing this because it gets her extra attention, which she clearly wants now, or 3) I've spoiled her rotten. I hate to say it but I do think it's a combination of all three. Average lifespan after diagnosis of lymphoma is three months. Nyssa is in her fourteenth month with the disease. Her vet has called it "late stage" for a while now. When we asked Dr. Weston about other treatment options she felt Nyssa was too far gone for anything else. Despite all of that Nyssa kept playing and acting like she still had and has a good quality of life.

Please understand that I am not forcing anything on Nyssa. I simply offer some food in my hand and she eats it on her own. I offer all I can to keep her happy and keep her going. Having said that, when Nyssa decides it's time to go I won't try to keep her longer at this point. I'll cry, of course, but when she tells me she wants to say goodbye I'll love her enough to let her go.

In the meanwhile I am perfectly willing to spoil Nyssa rotten. She's the last of my original groups of ferrets from the spring/summer of 1998 and she's an absolute sweetheart.

Holiday Ferret Update

2005-12-24T15:46:00.000-06:00

Nyssa has been feeling a bit better and has been very active three of the last four evenings: playing with the fleece squeaky toy, begging for treats, relocating her precious doggie, and stealing polar fleece balls. Chin Soon, of course, believes all polar fleece balls are precious and belong to her. Chin Soon's way of getting even is to steal and wrestle with Nyssa's doggie. It's all very funny.

Nyssa is definitely weaker than she was and she is still slowly going downhill. She no longer has the strength to wrestle and no longer fights back. She just gets upset and squeaks. Considering how fierce and aggressive Nyssa once was that's pretty sad to see. My new place has carpeted floors and that's allowed Nyssa to really run again, something she couldn't manage on hardwoods lately. She still stumbles and gets wobbly at times but at least she has better mobility.

Now that Nyssa defers to Zephyr and that Zephyr is firmly established as alpha things are definitely better between them. It's getting more and more common to see all four running together. There is also a new universal favorite treat: Marshall Raisin Flavor Bandits. Both Nyssa and Zephyr have decided they are most wanted treat, and Chin Soon and Ella always liked them.

Nyssa also stood up and made clear she wanted out this morning. I did giver her an extra treat. She's sleeping comfortably in one of her favorite sleep sacks now.

Long holiday weekend should mean lots more out of cage time and hopefully happy, bouncy ferrets.

Nyssa's Latest Vet Visit

2005-11-29T21:53:00.000-06:00

It seems to me sometimes that when you have an old ferret with medical issues you go to the vet a lot. If you have a ferrets' blog you write about it a lot. It probably gets boring to read, too, but... this visit was a good one and that IS worth sharing. I had written about Nyssa to a friend who has ferrets and I realized I should share this a bit further.

The big news is that Nyssa is maintaining her weight. Oh, she has a ton of stuff wrong and it's all getting worse, but it's all getting worse slowly and she's hanging in there, which is amazing. She got another depo medrol shot (it had been four months since the last one) to help her along.

Nyssa has enlarged abdominal lymph nodes, an unidentified mass in her abdomen (we've known about that since July but it hasn't grown much), and pretty much her whole GI tract is enlarged, probably due to invasion by lymphoma. She has two small growths on her underside, probably benign mast cell tumors.

With all that going on, more than a year after diagnosis with lymphoma, she still explores, still runs a little, still likes tunnels, and still watches after her beloved stuffed doggie she's had since she was a kit. Nyssa still thrashes Zephyr when she's challenged, though that takes every last ounce of her strength and it's bedtime right after. She's still dominant alpha and both Ella and Chin Soon defer to her.

To top it all off Nyssa is more affectionate than ever. She seems to really appreciate how much I love her and Summer, who's been ferret sitting, loves her. She's even started lying on a lap or chest for naps.

I know I'm going to lose Nyssa pretty soon. I'm just thrilled she's still here and still mostly happy.

Update on the Fearsome Foursome (especially Nyssa)

2005-11-27T10:00:00.000-06:00

Nyssa has been more active the last couple of nights. She actually had a good night, as in almost her old self, on Saturday. Still, her overall activity level is much lower and she is due for another depo medrol shot, so she goes to the vet on Tuesday afternoon. This should hopefully get her through much of the winter and by then I'll have a new vet in Wisconsin, I hope.

Chin Soon has been curling up and sleeping with Nyssa. It's wonderful how she's bonded with the ferret who she once was so afraid of. I think Chin Soon is the main reason Nyssa has kept going after the loss of Romana. All the ferrets Nyssa was with for the first six years of her life are gone now. Chin Soon has been around for a year and a half. Nyssa always takes a long time to accept a newcomer and even longer to really bond to one. I'm glad she had enough time with Chin Soon. There are also signs that she's getting closer to Ella.

The three younger ones (Ella, Zephyr, and Chin Soon) are all active, bouncy, and just fine. It seems the little adrenal scares with Ella and Chin Soon were false alarms, much like I saw with Adric. Both have full winter coats.

I'm counting the days until I have ferrets in my life full time again.

Last Photo of Romana; Nyssa Coping

2005-11-23T13:32:00.000-06:00

The last ever picture of Romana was taken a couple of days before she died. She turned and walked away from the camera. In retrospect she was telling us something in this photo, wasn't she?

Goodbye, Romana. I love you and I miss you.

Nyssa was more active last night so she may be getting over her depression. She's also been spotted curling up with Ella to sleep which is a very good sign. Ella is a gentle soul and Nyssa bonding more with her now would be a very good thing.

The Day After

2005-11-16T22:10:00.000-06:00

I received lots of sympathy notes about Romana. They were all very well intentioned. Each one made me a bit more depressed. I can't believe she's gone. It was all so sudden. If it had been Nyssa, well... yes, I'd have cried and been quite upset about it, but with Nyssa it would have been expected. Instead Nyssa is the last of my original business from 1998 left standing. Who would have guessed that my sickly one would still be here and my perpetually healthy little girl would be gone?

It sounds like Nyssa is depressed too. She and Chin Soon were both upset last night when they saw and sniffed Romana's body. Today Nyssa didn't run or play at all. The only hope for Nyssa getting through this OK is that she and Chin Soon have been becoming pretty bonded to one another. Chin Soon may just help the ferret she used to be terrified of get over her loss.

I've been working on the ferrets' web page (link at right), as in adding pictures and updating text. The memorial page, the parts for Podo and Kodo, still need to be finished. Ella and Zephyr's pages are still incomplete. I need to add new photos to Chin Soon's page. Nyssa's page and the front page are done. Romana's memorial is there.

This all stinks. The one thing that will cheer me up is getting the four remaining ferrets back in my life full time. That should happen very soon.

Goodbye Romana (1998-2005)

2005-11-15T16:29:00.000-06:00

I just told Lauren Powers to go ahead and end Romana's suffering.

Ultrasound found her abdominal cavity filled with pus, which was drained. She had septic peritonitis. Her bowel was all stuck together. There is a tumor on her spleen. She was passing frank blood.

Dr. Power's best theory is that there was a tumor in her bowel or lower intestines which ruptured. Even if we had gotten Romana to Dr. Powers before the mass ruptured it was likely due to some form of cancer as there were abnormal cells in the pus. If that was something like intestinal lymphoma Romana's prognosis was horrible already. She was in a LOT of pain.

Even if Dr. Powers could have gotten her stable enough to survive a surgery to clean out her abdominal cavity and remove any remaining tumor(s) the chances for recovery were very, very poor and the chances that we'd just be prolonging her life for a little bit of tortured existence was very high.

I love Romana too much to put her through any more. It was time to say goodbye. I just wish I could have been there for her. I can't blame Summer for anything, though. Dr. Powers was full of praise for the things Summer did to keep Romana going and to keep her from being even more dehydrated than she was. I am actually really grateful for all Summer did. I couldn't have done better. I just would have liked to say goodbye to my little sweetheart ferret.

I'm also terribly worried about how Nyssa will take this. Nyssa is the last ferret left from my original business and she was very bonded to Romana.

Romana will be buried next to Tenchi, Adric, Avon, Ryo-Ohki, Lady Ayeka, Podo, and Kodo, the ferrets she spent most of her life with. There's any empty space for Pertwee there too.

I can't believe she's gone. She was fine less than a week ago.

Last Mad Dash to Try and Save Romana

2005-11-15T11:43:00.000-06:00

Romana is in very bad shape. Dr. Weston can feel the mass but doesn't know what it is. Romana's temperature is below normal and she's lost weight. Dr. Weston doesn't feel that she's a good surgical candidate and would like to do an ultrasound first. She also feels that Romana needs 24 hour care if she's going to make it at this point. Dr. Weston has neither the ultrasound nor the 24 hour facilities. She wanted to transfer Romana to the Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Cary. I have no clue how good they are or aren't with ferrets so...

Romana is going to Huntersville. Dr. Lauren Powers, who has treated my ferrets before and who is one of the best (if not the absolute best) ferret vets in North Carolina is expecting her. Carolina Veterinary Specialists, where Dr. Powers practices, has all the facilities needed and I trust Dr. Powers' judgment in critical cases completely. An hour east to Cary or a couple of hours west to Huntersville wasn't going to make a big difference. The quality of the surgeon (which everyone including Dr. Weston pretty much assumes she's going to need) will make a big difference in whether Romana lives or dies.

Please continue to keep Romana in your thoughts. I am terribly worried about her.

1:30 PM EST Update:

Romana's body temp this morning was a terribly low 97 degrees. Dr. Weston was able to get it back up to 102 and gave her fluids as well. That improves her chances of surviving surgery. She's being kept warm with a sock filled with heated beans as Summer drives west with her to Dr. Powers.

If Dr. Powers thinks Romana has a chance and that Romana will still be undergoing care there tonight and tomorrow I am going to rush down to Huntersville while Summer (my ex-flatmate and great friend who's been caring for the ferrets while I've been traveling) will go back to the Triangle to take care of Nyssa and the three healthy ones: Chin Soon, Ella, and Zephyr. I'll stay in the Charlotte area until Romana is through her crisis, one way or another.

So... these missives will likely stop today. I'll keep in touch with a couple of friends from TriFL and will eventually post on how this all works out. I can't afford the time or the cost right now (I'm in the process of moving to Wisconsin to start a new job, remember?) but, for me, Romana comes first and no time or expense is too great to save her.

Still Very Worried About Romana

2005-11-14T22:42:00.000-06:00

Romana is alert and stable. She was force fed duck soup by the vet last night and was given fluids. She still has diarrhea but can go to the litter pan regularly. The emergency vet didn't feel that she's in immediate danger or that surgery today was a must. As a result she'll be at Jordan Lake Animal Hospital 7:30 tomorrow morning.

Earlier today Romana didn't want food or treats but would take water willingly. Now she doesn't want water, either. She's with the other ferrets and mostly just wants to sleep. Needless to say I am worried sick about my littlest ferret.

I hate force feeding an animal and consider it pretty much torture but... just to get her to the point where Romana could see Dr. Weston and be strong enough for surgery I did consent to it today. It will come to a stop tomorrow one way or another.

I expect Romana will end up having exploratory surgery tomorrow but I won't know that for sure until Dr. Weston sees her. I hardly slept last night and somehow I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight either. I just hope that Dr. Weston can find something she can treat tomorrow and that Romana has a chance to recover.

Romana Update

2005-11-13T21:08:00.000-06:00

It appears Romana is stable. They are going to keep her overnight and try to get her to eat, either A/D or her regular food. Her blood work (CBC, full chem panel, glucose) showed that she probably has insulinoma but nothing else was severely off: no infection, no organ failure, no renal failure, no bad results at all. This, combined with the fact that she got through her annual checkup a week ago with flying colors makes me think of a blockage even though the emergency clinic doesn't think so.

The plan for now is to try and keep Romana stable tonight and get her to a regular ferret vet tomorrow.

Keep thinking good thoughts for my littlest girl.

Romana Is In Trouble

2005-11-13T19:09:00.000-06:00

Summer had to rush Romana to the emergency clinic tonight. A large mass was found in Romana's stomach. She's being x-rayed now to see if it's a blockage (they don't think so) or a tumor or... She's also quite dehydrated and will probably stay where she is overnight to get her stabilized. All this is happening and I'm not there for her...

Please keep Romana in your thoughts tonight. I'm hoping the emergency clinic can get her stable and then she can go to Dr. Weston for any needed surgery.

9:40 PM EST update:

The head vet at the emergency clinic nixed the x-ray since all it would show was the mass, not whether it is a tumor or a blockage. They drew blood and are running a full CBC, chem panel, and glucose to try and determine what is wrong with Romana. She's also on sub-Q fluids to rehydrate her. I'll post more when I know more. Again, please keep my littlest girl in your thoughts.

Soon To Be Wisconsin Weasels

2005-11-13T16:58:00.000-06:00

I've accepted a job offer that is going to move me to Green Bay, Wisconsin just in time for winter. Brrr... Good thing ferrets have fur coats, eh? If you want more details please see my Entropy (personal) blog. So... for the next little bit Summer gets to watch the ferrets one last time while I pack and make a trip up north to look for housing. One of the really good things about this new job is that it means very little travel from now on, which means I get to have my ferrets full time again. I can't wait!

The bad news right now is that Romana isn't feeling well. She's got an upset stomach, has been low energy, and generally has been out of sorts. Our beggar-in-chief is even refusing treats, though she is still eating. Summer is taking her to see Dr. Weston tomorrow. I think Summer is getting to know the road to Pittsboro all too well. She's done a great job taking care of the ferrets and I am eternally grateful.

One thing Summer has been doing is taking some very cute pictures of the little weasels. While she mostly free roams the ferrets (giving them a dedicated room when she's not home) the current business most often goes back into the cage to find their favorite sleep sacks and hammocks. Here's a great picture of (top to bottom) Chin Soon, Ella, and Zephry in their cube.

7½

2005-11-02T19:18:00.000-06:00

Every time Nyssa goes to the vet I get to hear a dire prognosis. She wasn't expected to live to see her seventh birthday. Of course she did and it was a cause for celebration. Six months have gone by and Nyssa is still here, defying the conventional vet wisdom that she should have died already. As I've said before I sometimes think Nyssa is too stubborn to die.

Anyway, when you have an old, sick ferret you start counting half years much as we do for small children. Nyssa is 7½ years old today. Happy (half) Birthday, Nyssa! Here's hoping you defy the dire news again and again. I'd love to celebrate your eighth :)

Below is a photo from April that I hadn't posted anywhere yet. If you saw Nyssa today (or even look at the photo in my post of July 6) you can see the toll lymphoma is taking on her. She is much thinner, barely more than skin and bones, today. Having said that Nyssa still fiercely protects her beloved stuffed doggie, still loves to explore (sometimes at great length), is more affectionate than ever, still likes to run through the tunnels now and again, and still fends off challenges (mainly from Zephyr) to her role as ferret in charge, the dominant alpha. She rarely shows signs of being uncomfortable or in pain. Her quality of life remains good despite the lymphoma and that, really, is all I can ask for.

A Very Special Anniversary

2005-10-31T21:36:00.000-06:00

Exactly seven years ago today I went to a local pet supply shop to buy ferret litter. They had run out. This presented a problem. I had learned that if I changed my ferrets' litter they magically forgot their litter training. After all, they couldn't be meant to poop in that wonderful new dig box I had given them in place of a litter pan, could they? I mean it probably looked and smelled like their litter pan but the stuff inside was different and fun to play with. They'd relieve themselves somewhere else, like on a corner of the carpet. Can't mess up the fun new toy, can we?

Needless to say with six young, playful ferrets at home I absolutely, positively had to have something that the ferrets knew was litter. I went to another area pet store that I normally didn't frequent -- one that sold ferret kits. By then I knew that we had a ferret shelter in North Carolina that was full and I preferred to support stores that didn't sell animals.

Anyway, I went in and there was this absolutely tiny ferret kit, smaller than any I had ever seen. She was crying and wouldn't stop. I had never heard a ferret cry before. I asked the help in the store, all high school kids, if I could pick her up. After a "yes" I had a crying, biting tiny ferret in my arms. To quote from Romana's web page:
...it soon became obvious why she was upset. They were feeding her solid food and she only had her milk teeth! She was starving to death with a full food bowl. It was the weekend, the managers weren't there, and the help had no idea what to do and didn't seem too keen on listening to me. I was afraid she'd die if I left her there, so I took her home, resolving to talk to the store owner during the week.
...
Prior to that time the store had only sold Marshall Farms kits and had cared for them very well indeed. None had ever arrived at less than seven weeks old. Romana came from a different breeder and was the youngest they ever had. They took care of her like they do all of their ferrets but that simply couldn't possibly work for a five week old. My housemate and I fed Romana soft food and she literally spent two days with her head in her food bowl, even falling asleep with her head laid there. As our vet at the time (now retired) said about Romana: "All she needed was groceries." The right groceries, mind you. Yes, the manager of the store was good and offered me my money back if I wanted to return Romana but by then we had fallen in love with her and had decided to keep her. The picture on the left is Romana, by then at a healthy body weight for her size, at age nine weeks.

This next picture is of Romana, a thirteen week old kit, climbing our screen door. We quickly put a stop to that.

Romana today is a happy, healthy, exceptionally affectionate seven year old ferret. She's still tiny. I don't know if that is because of her being starved at such a critical point in her development or if it was because she was the runt of the litter. That hasn't ever stopped her from climbing everything and anything (as you can see) or from jumping farther than ferrets three times her size.

Romana is one of the last two surviving ferrets from the eight we brought home in 1998. (Nyssa is the other.) She is the reason Halloween will always be special to me. The final picture below was taken earlier this year here in Cincinnati. Happy Anniversary, Romana!

Ella and Nyssa go to the vet

2005-10-27T19:59:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday, with more business travel looming for me, Summer took Ella and Nyssa to see Dr. Holly Weston at Jordan Lake Animal Hospital, our vet in North Carolina. I really appreciate her doing that. Thankfully my business travels are likely over for now and I can give proper care to my ferrets again full time.

Ella went because she had been showing some hair loss which we originally attributed to the usual seasonal coat change. Then her vulva became swollen and Summer realized that Ella's adrenal disease likely has recurred.

By the time the appointment came around two days later Ella's vulva was back to normal. I saw these kind of on again, off again symptoms with Nyssa when she had adrenal disease about five years ago. Our vet at the time, Dr. Dan Hudson (wonderful ferret vet, now retired) took a conservative approach and waited until the symptoms were clear and didn't go away. Nyssa had her adrenal surgery about nine months later. Dr. Weston takes the same conservative approach. She believes that it is likely that Ella does have adrenal again, but considering all the potential for problems and complications after a second adrenal surgery she wants to be absolutely certain before doing anything. Having experienced pretty much everything that could go wrong with both Pertwee's and Ryo-Ohki's second adrenal surgeries I appreciate her caution. I also know, in the end, if, as everyone expects, Ella does need surgery it isn't the end of the world. Pertwee had three and a half very good years with no adrenal glands and was still my totally insane wired weasel much as before.

So... I'm worried about Ella but for now it's simply time to watch and wait and see how things develop.

I guess I'm used to hearing a horrible prognosis when Nyssa goes to the vet. She's lived longer than anyone expected already. Dr. Weston truly believes that Nyssa is now in the final stages of lymphoma and that she doesn't have long left. Nyssa weighs only 1.5 lbs., down roughly a pound from a healthy, normal body weight for her. 2.7 lbs. was a normal winter weight in the past. She really is just skin and bones. Dr. Weston believes the diarrhea was caused by lymphoma invading her GI tract. She also noted that Nyssa's teeth, especially the broken canine, are in really bad shape.

Anyway, it was definitely time for yet another change of medications for Nyssa. Dr. Weston started her on amoxicillin (an antibiotic), both for her teeth and for the off chance that the stomach problem is a bug rather than lymphoma. She discontinued the Mylanta and didn't resume the diarsanyl. While the diarsanyl worked for Nyssa's tummy troubles before it was Dr. Rosing (our Ohio vet) who prescribed it and Dr. Weston just isn't familiar with it. She put Nyssa on Kaopectate instead and that should also coat her stomach the way the Mylanta did. Nyssa is still on the same dosage of prednisolone and we still have the torbugesic in case she needs pain medication.

The net result, a week later, is that Ella seems fine. The hair loss is about the same and she's not showing any additional adrenal symptoms at all. Nyssa's responded very well to the new meds, either the amoxicillin, the Kaopectate, or both. In any case her poop is normal. She has a voracious appetite as always so we're hoping she won't lose any more weight and may even put a little back on. She's clearly feeling better again. We seem to have had yet another little miracle for Nyssa and bought her some more time. I am very grateful for that.

This weekend I go to North Carolina and, after spending a couple of days with Summer and the ferrets there, I get to bring them home to stay. I can't wait.

Spending More Time With the Little Weasels

2005-10-25T11:27:00.000-05:00

Last week and this week I had to leave the ferrets with Summer because of my ongoing travels. For example I have to fly to Green Bay, Wisconsin this evening. The ferrets can't come because I can't bring five on a plane. Besides, I don't think Nyssa would tolerate that sort of travel well. The good news is that current plans have me going back to North Carolina this weekend and bringing the ferrets home, this time hopefully for good. I'll probably be posting in my Entropy Blog about the changes in my work situation which should mean, with any luck, that I'll be back in a mostly non-travel position where I can be the full time caregiver for the little weasels.

Yes, the ferrets were part of the reason for this. I miss them terribly every time I leave them. I also feel guilty about leaving them, especially Nyssa right now. This is true even though I know Summer loves them and gives them wonderful care. The ferrets have also always been my stress relief. No matter how lousy a day I've had, no matter how depressed I might feel, coming home and letting the ferrets out to play was always the cure. They would always do something so funny, so mischievous, or just be so lovable and affectionate that I couldn't help but smile, laugh, and just plain feel better. Without the ferrets I don't cope quite so well with the stresses of my work or of life in general. If I get depressed I stay depressed. That had to change.

So... yes the ferrets are coming home. I can't wait.

I'll post about the vet visit next. I promise :)

Ella-bear

2005-10-24T22:24:00.000-05:00

Before I post about Nyssa and Ella going to the vet I realized that I had never, ever posted the obligatory cute picture of Ella. OK, it's time, isn't it?

This summer Ella slimmed down and became a typical skinny weasel. This past spring, though, after recovering from adrenal surgery, she was doing a fair imitation of a miniature Kodo. Kodo, who was big in every way, earned the nickname of Big Bear. With Ella on the pleasingly plump side I started calling her Ella-bear because she really did remind me of Kodo. She, like Kodo, is a big sweetheart. OK, she's a little sweetheart now but she was a big sweetheart then.

Here is Ella last April taking a snooze on a comfy blanket with one of her toys.

My next post will have the latest Ella news and Nyssa news.

Last Sunday: Nyssa and Trust

2005-10-22T10:29:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday night Nyssa was really active again. I don't know if it was just that I was there for her or still something leftover from her chance to go someplace different on Saturday, but she was alert, explored everywhere and anywhere she could, and made sure to relocate and check on her beloved stuffed doggie she's had since she was a kit.

When Nyssa, who has always been quite independent and never cuddly, decided she wanted to be picked up I, of course, picked her up. She settled on my chest and shoulder and went to sleep. She's never done that before. I sat down and watched the news and was sure not to disturb her and gently stroked her back. It's the least I could do for Nyssa and she was obviously most comfortable with me that way. She rested there for about an hour.

Nyssa has always been very bonded to me. She clearly trusts me more than anyone else. I just hope I have some more time to show her how much I love her.

The bad news is that by Sunday Nyssa's diarrhea had returned and we are pretty sure it's her lymphoma invading her GI tract. Monday we made a vet appointment for her...

Last Saturday: Playtime For 14

2005-10-21T17:58:00.000-05:00

From last Friday through Monday of this week I was down in North Carolina and so were the ferrets. One of the highlights was a visit to my friend Cindy in Clayton. Cindy currently has nine ferrets of her own, two of which are recent rescues. Her ferrets and mine have gotten together before and it always works out well. Playtime for 14 ferrets was just plain wild as always. For Ella and Zephyr this was the first time.

Zephy was in absolute ferret heaven. She was the only ferret of the entire two businesses to run and play the entire three hour plus time we had. Cindy has a rice box and a biodegradable, non-toxic peanut box for digging, both connected by an intricate tunnel system. Zephyr thought this was the absolute best. Any ferret who came over to wrestle was happily obliged. It didn't matter if Zephy won or lost the match. Play was the order of the day.

Ella didn't take quite as much advantage and was more interested in exploring and, after maybe an hour, finding a really plush cloth tube to take a nap in. She came back out to explore again towards the end.

I learned quite a bit about Chin Soon during the three hours. She'd run into most of these ferrets before at a TriFL meeting and didn't like it one bit. That was back when she was scared of every other ferret except Podo. Since then she's really bonded to my other four, loves to wrestle and play, and even became super close to Nyssa, her one time nemesis. I thought that she'd be fine with Cindy's ferrets too. Silly me.

Chin Soon is still terrified of any other ferrets she doesn't know. If one of Cindy's approached her she just ran, ending up back in her travel cage. At one point she and Romana were in there and Tux, one of Cindy's newcomers, decided to explore the cage and then wrestle with Romana. Tux wrestling with Romana terrified Chin Soon, who screamed and pooped on the spot. The poor little scared weasel wasn't even touched. I picked her up, comforted her for a while, and put her in the dig box with Zephyr. Seeing Zephry and only Zephyr was there she relaxed and started playing like a happy ferret again. Once a lot of Cindy's ferrets decided it was nap time Chin Soon also was able to explore and climb to her heart's content.

Nyssa has met several of Cindy's ferrets on many previous occasions, but mostly where I used to live in North Carolina or at TriFL meetings. Cindy's house is a place she hadn't seen in years. She was stimulated by the new surroundings and was more active than I'd seen her in a long time, exploring every possible nook, cranny, corner, and toy. She even ran through Cindy's ferrets' tunnels. The only bad news was that to the other ferrets Nyssa probably seemed like any other active, normal ferret at that point. One of Cindy's more aggressive boys, Little Man, decided to wrestle with Nyssa. Nyssa is still our dominant alpha and is still a fierce wrestler. It didn't take her long to send Little Man running. As has always been the case in recent months a good wrestle takes all the energy Nyssa has. Within two or three minutes exploring was over and the hammock in the travel cage was where she chose to sleep. Still, I think Nyssa enjoyed her new surroundings and definitely got more exercise than I'd seen in a while, which is all good.

Romana has always been a great explorer and Cindy's house gave her great new opportunities to go back to something she seemed to do endlessly years ago as a kit: climb everything and anything. Romana still loves to climb and I had to warn Cindy a few times about the interesting places Romana was getting to in order to make sure that Cindy was OK with it. In a couple of cases we moved breakable things but I only had to remove Romana once. Romana the intrepid explorer was definitely back. She eventually found Nyssa and curled up with her but not before a nice, long run.

Cindy's newcomers, Tuxedo (Tux for short) and Pinafore (Penny for short) are wonderful, beautiful, relatively young ferrets. Cindy was concerned about integrating them but it didn't take long at all. By the end of playtime Tux was sleeping curled up with Slithor, Cindy's old man of maybe nine years. Penny was in a hammock in the big cage with five other ferrets. I think they'll get along just fine. Oh, and yes, they played and ran and wrestled.

Speaking of Slithor, both he and Mosaic (Cindy's other old man) were absolute sweethearts and gave me lots of kisses. I remember when Slithor, whose original name was Nascar, was surrendered at the very first TriFL visit to Ronald McDonald House in Durham. That had to be at least seven years ago, probably more. It's great to see these old ferrets still doing well in a great, loving home. I'll never understand people who think an intelligent, loving pet is somehow disposable. Thank G-d for people like Cindy who take them in and give them forever homes.

All in all I think Saturday was a great time for everyone.

Romana Is Seven!

2005-09-26T23:14:00.000-05:00

This past week Romana had her seventh birthday. She's still happy and healthy and playful as ever, and still as skillful at getting into trouble as ever. It's hard to believe she's a little old ferret lady now. Until Chin Soon arrived last summer she had always been the youngest in the group.

Considering how rough a start she had in her life (she was literally starving when we brought her home as a five and a half week old kit) it's amazing that she has remained healthy and strong through most of her life and into old age. I couldn't wish for a sweeter ferret and I'm hoping to have similar reports at future birthdays.

Nyssa, amazingly, continues to hang in there as well and has been a real sweetheart with Summer. Her diarsanyl (dairrhea medication) was discontinued a couple of weeks back and she has suffered no ill effects so it seems we were dealing with ordinary stomach problems, not lymphoma invading her GI tract. This is immensely good news. Despite the dire prognosis she's received from all three vets who have treated her since she was diagnosed with lymphoma we've been able to keep her happy for nearly 11 months. I am VERY grateful for that.

Once again, happy birthday Romana!

Nyssa Bounces Back One More Time

2005-09-04T23:11:00.000-05:00

The diarsanyl is working. Nyssa's poops are still a bit soft but the worst of the problem is gone. She's eating voaraciosly again and has decided that she likes Ferretvite after all. Nyssa is putting lost weight back on. It's yet another minor miracle in Nyssa's long struggle with lymphoma. Oh, she'll lose in the end but so long as we can maintain her quality of life and keep her happy we will.

Seven and a half is getting closer all the time. We didn't think Nyssa would see her seventh birthday. I'm glad she had other ideas.

Nyssa Again :( & Romana's Good News

2005-08-29T17:47:00.000-05:00

Nyssa has chronic diarrhea and is losing weight again. She was emaciated already so there isn't much to lose. Dr. Rosing had given us diarsanyl, which we used to control the diarrhea when lymphoma attacked Lady Ayeka's GI tract, for just this eventuality. Nyssa started on it tonight. I am very, very worried about her right now.

I should have posted this last week: Romana's pathology report came back. The growth was completely benign. My littlest girl is just fine.

Latest News From North Carolina

2005-08-22T11:09:00.000-05:00

I spoke to Summer yesterday and today and got the latest on the ferrets.

Romana is healing beautifully and is back with the others. Summer had me on portable speakerphone and Romana ran to my voice and followed wherever the phone went. Summer thinks she misses me. I wish I could tell her I miss her too. I miss all the ferrets. I hate having to travel and be away from them for weeks at a time.

Nyssa was quite active yesterday but Summer told me what I already saw: she's so terribly thin she reminds us of Ryo-Ohki at the end of her life. As long as we can keep Nyssa happy and comfortable... I just hope I get some more time with her.

Romana Came Through Surgery Just Fine

2005-08-18T19:44:00.000-05:00

Romana is home with Summer and she came through surgery just fine. She's sleeping. I'm told her little ear doesn't look bad at all. Now all we have to do is wait for the pathology results.

I miss having the ferret around all the time. I'm doing some work to change that even if it means changing jobs. We'll see what happens...

Vet Visit -- Mixed News

2005-08-15T15:43:00.000-05:00

Nyssa, Romana, and Chin Soon (in order of age, most senior ferret first) went to the vet today. The report was mixed.

The good news, believe it or not, is about Nyssa. Though she is very thin she is actually maintaining her weight again. Considering what she is going through Dr. Weston thinks she is doing very well indeed. The toe is healing as expected and the nail should grow back. We stay the course.

The so-so news is for Chin Soon. We are going to wait and see how adrenal symptoms progress. Dr. Weston wants to be sure that she can clearly see which gland to take when she goes in.

The not so good news is for Romana who goes for surgery Thursday. Her ear tag has grown and Dr. Weston wants to remove it and send it for pathology. There is always some risk when you put a senior ferret under anesthesia even for minor surgery. Please keep Romana in your thoughts.

More when I know more...

Bath Night and Departure Day

2005-08-14T22:38:00.000-05:00

I got home with the ferrets Friday night and Summer had just arrived and was waiting for me. It was late so we just got them situated in the big cage. Last night was bath night. The little weasels were smelly and definitely due. It had probably been two months since their last bath, which for ferrets is a pretty decent amount of time. Too many baths and you dry out their skin. Then they produce more oils and smell more. Six to eight weeks seems to be ideal.

As always the ferrets protested being wet mightily and were all stressed out and hyper as they dried themselves. As always their coats looked absolutely beautiful when all was done. Even Nyssa, with her thin hair, looks much, much better.

Nyssa had a good weekend. Between coming home, seeing Summer again, and, of course, the bath, she was stimulated and more active. She's horribly skinny and emaciated despite a voracious appetite. That's the cancer that is slowly killing her. Still, with a fluffy coat and some attitude she definitely seemed happier and more her old self.

Today was terribly depressing. I have to beginning traveling by air for work again starting tomorrow and can't have the ferrets with me. Summer took them back to North Carolina. I miss them already. At least I had six good weeks with them.

Tomorrow Chin Soon, Romana, and Nyssa go to see Dr. Holly Weston, their regular vet down in North Carolina. I'll wait to write about it until I know what Dr. Weston thinks.

Nyssa's Latest Misfortune -- and a Cute Chin Soon Story

2005-08-09T14:40:00.000-05:00

I ended up having to run Nyssa to a Veterinary Emergency Clinic here in Pittsburgh. When I let the ferrets out after work last night she had a nail caught in her hammock. I ran for the nail clipper but much to my shock she had freed herself -- by ripping her nail out. The entire quick was exposed and bleeding. She ran around as if nothing had happened.

The vet, Dr. Rexford, seemed very ferret knowledgeable. He told me animals in the last stages of cancer don't feel or show pain the same way as other animals. I guess that's a mercy. Anyway, it was disinfected and she's on antibiotics to prevent infection. If she lives long enough it will grow back. It looks absolutely horrible, though.

My other ferret story is a cute one. The other night I forgot to do a nose count and Chin Soon wasn't in the cage. I found out when I woke up. She was curled up with me in bed. Very sweet, but I'm sure glad I didn't roll over in my sleep and squash her.