Alice--It's over

Yesterday morning Alice was up and about as usual, begging for treats and eating kibble and soups.  In the afternoon she was flat ferreting, and she never ever does that.  This morning, she could hardly stand up.  We were worried she might be seizing, so we gave her .5 cc of karo followed by some syringed soups, as well as 1.25cc of prednisone.  We then tried to get a BG reading but failed.  We stuck 2 toes 5-6 times total and never got a big enough drop for a reading.  She's so dang tiny.  It's like she still has the flu like she had a couple weeks ago.  She's eating soups on her own from a small bowl in the cage next to her bed, and she'll take it from a syringe, but she doesn't want to walk around. But she's just licking up the liquid and leaving the mush. We'll may try another blood test tonight, and another dose of pred if her BG tests low, but if she's not better in the morning, she'll be going to the vet.  She's The last ferret I've had since before I met Dar, and she had as many adventures as Poppy and they shared a lot of them.  She's pretty special to me.

She scared us 3 weeks ago, and we tested her BG and got 58, but a couple days later, after she was feeling better and eating, she was back up to 78, with no meds.  

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

I hope Alice will be OK. Keep us updated on her. 

 
Fuzzbutts Rule!

Poor tiny. Is she doing any better today?

she's eating and this morning she got up and walked around for a bit.  She doesn't want soups with raw. We'll sub some chicken baby food for now.  Tried again unsucessfully to get a blood sample. she seems better but it's these ups and downs that worry me.  we're going to keep her on pred until we can get her to the vet, which hopefully will be this week.

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Idk if this helps, but my ferret is also super tiny and the vet took her blood from behind her ear to get BG readings. She's really fluffy too.

Alice had her vet visit and it was a bit traumatic for her, but she's fine now. It took 5 tries to get a rectal temp, which finally succeeded on her second dose of Ferretone. Her fecal float test was negative, so no parasites, and her BG was 82.  She didn't get pred this morning.  The vet took blood from an artery at the base of her tail and it bled pretty good.  She got to wear a bandage wrap for a few minutes, which of course she hated.  



Every time she thought they were done with her she crawled back into the carrier and buried herself in the t-shirt, and a few minutes later they pulled her out again.  When she got home she ate a good portion of soup.  I'm sure the stress was part of it, but while she was there she was shedding bunches of fur.  It looks like she has a new undercoat starting and no bald spots, but I'm talking bunches of fur.  

So, we're left with IBD.  Ever since we took the turkey our of her soups her poops have been better.  She's gaining some weight, but still 8% less than her visit in April.  She'll be on liquid prednisolone for IBD for some time, maybe for life, until she can go without.  

I've never dealt with IBD in ferrets or cats. Any comments regarding long term care would be helpful.

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We're giving her 5cc carnivore care every 1 1/2- 2 hrs. She takes it ok, but hardly moves otherwise. She was laying in her waste this morning  Whenever I've seen that before, it was the last day.  :( :(  

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Sending good thoughts to Alice.  Did I just get a picture of her?
 

Yeah, you got 4 or 5.  She's the tiny sable under the end table

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I thought I got couple pictures of her.  

Dr B says Alice feels bloated (I agree) but she got no fluids from an abdominal tap, and she's dehydrated again.  Temp, resp and heart rate normal.  Best guess is intestinal gas, due to IBD.  Alice got sub-q fluids because she's not taking enough in.  I get to give her that 2x a day until she perks up.  Plus we're to push probiotics with feedings, plus children's gas-x 4x/day, plus her pred 2x.  I asked about food allergies, particularly turkey, and she doesn't think she shows any signs of allergic reaction.  Dr B said there's no need to change pred dose, or antibiotics, because we can't really say she has an infection, but it wouldn't hurt to try it. So the good news is she may see Birthday #6 in December, and this visit was under $60.  The bad news is I have to sub-q twice a day for a few days, and if it's IBD, it can go in cycles of good and bad, like it has 2 months in a row.  

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Feel better lil girl.

sending good vibes

thanks for update...I hope Alice starts to feel better.  Sending prayers her way.

Prayers are. Welcome gonna ask vet for amoxi and carafate as gasx  isnt helping. Maybe addd pepcid

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Alice was helped across the Bridge at 2 o'clock.  Nothing we did helped at all, and her kidneys finally quit.  She was peeing out every drop I gave her sub-q.  She's probably been in kidney failure for a while, but not much could be done about it anyway.  We couldn't watch her keep declining, she looked to be in pain, and all the pain med did was knock her out.  I'll put a memorial in the Bridge page later.  Right now I have to go bury her next to Poppy.  My beautiful little girl with the soft new coat.  

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This is what she was taking, plus feedings every 2-3 hours.  I bought pepcid this morning, but never gave her any.

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I am so sorry for your loss.  I remember her when you first came on to the forum.  I am so glad I was able to meet her.  Fly high little one.

Oh unclejoe, I'm so sorry to read this just now. :'(

Fly high and free with your Poppy and your other siblings up there, Alice. Watch over your dad and mom with them too. I know they miss you, special girl. <3

I love my little skunkers!
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -Mahatma Ghandi

Sorry for your loss, I didn't see this thread until now so I wasn't aware of your troubles.

It sounds like she knew she was quite loved, from all of your posts. I am sorry for your loss<3