by debferret

Jill’s heartache turns into a second chance at love

This is a story of a bonded pair, the heartache and the second chance at love. Jack and Jill were surrendered to the shelter. It was obvious they adored each other. We do not split bonded pairs and we make that quite clear during adoptions.

In time, an adoption was processed for Jack and Jill. Within the first month there were rumblings of discontent. They scratched too much. They didn’t play together. They were sick. The ferrets were re-checked by our vet and he pronounced them a healthy pair of furries. The vet’s expertise was questioned. Things deteriorated from there. I got a call that Jill was dying; there was something wrong with her. The new owner was only willing to return Jill, insisting on keeping Jack.

Jill was picked up and she did not look sick or “dying”. She had blown all her guard hairs; but she had a good weight to her. We took Jill to a different vet clinic in the morning and got her accessed . Once again she was given a clean bill of health.

My job now was to make sure she didn’t die of a broken heart after loosing Jack. I worried about Jack but I had no control over that. Jill refused to make friends with any of the other furries in the shelter. She lost weight, she pined for Jack. Slowly she put the weight back on but her spirit seemed broken.

Bridget, my satellite shelter mom inquired about bringing her there to help her old timer China Girl who had recently lost her cage mate. It was worth a try. It took about a month for the girls to get along. They share a cage but don’t sleep in the same hammock. When they are out playing, they follow each other around and play. They have bonded. Bridget tells me they don’t let each other out of sight. I am so happy Jill has found furry love again.

Jill whom Bridget renamed Jube Jube adores Bridget. Jube Jube has fallen hard for Bridget; she has found a human to love and trust again. When she climbs up on the couch for her snuggle time with Mommy; whoa is you if you try to touch Bridget. Jube Jube is not sharing her cuddle time with China Girl or Bridget’s spouse Danny.

01.26.17

by debferret

Hank ‘s Close Call

Hank’s Close Call (as shared with Deb)

Hank is one of our three fur babies. He has a cinnamon coat, is one and a half years old, and is probably one of the most well-mannered ferrets around. He’s had many great adventures since he came to live with us but just last week after one of Hank’s big romps around the house is where his next adventure began.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Hank along with his one-year-old sable little brother Riley, and three-year-old marked white older sister Darla were having their daily fun time outside of their cage. Under the watchful eyes of their feline sisters Francine and Lucy, all three ferrets were bouncing around having a grand old time. The room was full of dooks and the pitter-patter of their little feet as they chased each other around. Hank was paying close attention to the new automatic cat feeder that had suddenly appeared in the room. Unbeknownst to him his feline food dish had been moved downstairs in order to be closer to their litterbox (Francine has a hard time remembering where to go when the time arrives).

Playtime continued until pretty soon we realized that it was suddenly a lot quieter and that someone was missing. After some investigation we realized that Hank had quietly retired back into his cage and was curled up under his blanket. Peculiar we thought, but he must just be tired after his playtime. Riley and Darla finished their play-time and soon it was bed time. Hank was still laying in his cage; he wasn’t sleeping though, just staring at nothing in particular. After picking him up we realized how lethargic he was. He just laid there in Teekca’s arms with his head down. Very strange. We thought maybe he was just very tired from his playtime so we put him back in his cage to sleep.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

In the morning Hank perked up like he usually did when we fill up their food bowl and he walked around a bit. He seemed to be well rested and back to normal. Fast forward a few hours to around 4:30pm after we were done work. Teekca noticed that Hank was just lying there in his cage like the night before. She picked him up and found that he was drooling… a lot. He also didn’t eat or drink anything all day. This was when we knew for sure that something was not right. We immediately got on the phone and called our vet at Tuxedo Animal Hospital. We needed him to be seen right away.

Unfortunately, Hank’s vet was not scheduled to be in until 9:00 am the next morning. They suggested we phone Henderson Veterinary. Same thing. No one would be able to see him until the following morning at 9:00 am. This continued for a while. Birchwood? Nope. Sage Creek? Nope. Centennial? Nope. Southglen? Nope. We were told to contact Winrose. Finally, someone would be able to see Hank at 7:30pm – a bit later than we wanted but this was better than waiting until the next morning. After the vet technician heard Hanks symptoms she briefly put me on hold and spoke with the vet. The vet wanted us to bring him in ASAP.

We packed Hank up as quickly as we could and drove down to Winrose Animal Hospital to meet with Dr. McDonald. Hank was brought into the examination room immediately. We took Hank out of his carrier and all he did was lay on the table like he was speed bumping. A very sad speed bump. We were both so worried for Hank because we have never seen him behave like this before. We brought Dr. McDonald up to date on everything and even mentioned that Hank ate some of Francine and Lucy’s kitten food the night before. Dr. McDonald immediately took his temperature and heart rate. She found that his body temperature was somewhere around 34 degrees (extremely low), and his heart rate was very slow as well. She said these are usually the symptoms of organ failure. Our little Hank was very, very sick.

They immediately brought him in for x-rays to check for a blockage and wrapped him in heat to try bring his body temperature back up. Nothing showed up on his x-rays to immediately to indicate a foreign body, but the area around his pancreas showed up foggy (usually caused by inflammation). They still did not want to rule out that Hank had eaten something that would have caused a blockage (objects like string and foam do not show up well on x-rays). They decided to give Hank fluids under his skin to keep him hydrated, force fed him some medicated digestive food, and gave him some anti-inflammatory medication. Dr. McDonald told us to take Hank home for the night and make sure we keep him warm. We needed to get Hank’s body temperature up again – this was very important. We scheduled a follow up appointment for 9:00am the next morning.

Friday, January 6, 2017

We brought Hank in for his follow up appointment first thing the next morning and found that Hank’s temperature and heart rate increased and was almost close to normal. Unfortunately, there was no improvement to his behaviour and he had still yet to eat or drink anything on his own. Dr. McDonald hospitalized him for the day so they could do blood work and more tests. Throughout the day they gave Hank a barium swallow followed by an x-ray. The barium in his body would ‘light up’ under x-ray and would give a better idea if there was a blockage.

They drew blood for testing, gave him an IV (which of course he pulled out twice), some pain killers, and kept him under heat. The new x-rays showed that the barium did not make it past his stomach except for a small amount that made it to his colon. This was an indication of a blockage although there was still no indication of a foreign body. The blood tests showed a high red blood cell count (sign of dehydration), low creatinine level (caused by low protein), and immature red blood cells (result of inflammation). His blood sugar was normal at 10.5 which ruled out insulinoma. His lipase level (pancreatic enzyme) was extremely high at 3475. Normal lipase levels for ferrets are anywhere between 0-200. This was extremely worrying. Dr. McDonald immediately began treating Hank for pancreatitis. Dr. McDonald gave us a brief lesson on pancreatitis.

This is a condition mostly found in cats and dogs and there is very limited knowledge of it in ferrets. Wonderful, right? She told us that the pancreas is an organ that produces hormones (like insulin) and secretes enzymes into the intestines to aid digestion. Nestled between the stomach and small intestine, it tends to swell (usually painfully and potentially fatally) when it’s egregiously insulted through a variety of different causes like rapid change in diet and/or high fat intake (perhaps kitten food?).

This inflammation and its effects on the body are referred to as pancreatitis. When pancreatitis occurs, the pancreas releases enzymes and other substances into the surrounding area of the abdomen. These substances cause localized inflammation that damages the pancreas and nearby organs and can lead to life-threatening complications. Essentially the organs begin to digest themselves. This is why Hank was so lethargic and quiet. His body was eating itself and he was dying. This was now a life and death situation.

Our options now were to simply continue his anti-inflammatory medication and hope for a change (anti-inflammatory medication takes around 1-3 days show change) or we could admit Hank for exploratory surgery. At this point Dr. McDonald still has not ruled out a blockage due to a foreign body. If they found a foreign body in his stomach and/or digestive tract they would remove it, if they found that there was nothing there then they would simply stitch him up and continue his medication. Dr .McDonald offered to give Hank an ultrasound free of charge to check if anything appeared that would indicate a foreign body. After the ultrasound there was still no indication of a foreign body. This was strange since there was obviously something preventing anything from going past his stomach.

At this point we had to sit down and have the hard talk about how far we were willing to go for Hank. We had spent over $700.00 on his vet bills up to this point. Would we pay the $1090 for Hank’s surgery? Would we just simply wait for things to get better? We ultimately decided that we would do whatever necessary to get Hank back to normal. Hank was the first ferret that both of us had ever seen and held, he was our first fur baby and he was part of the family. Both of us have very supportive families so we decided to start a GoFundMe page for Hank. We managed to raise almost $400.00 om our friends and family to put towards Hanks vet bills (Thank you Deb for your generous donation of $50.00!).

We thought about what to do logically. Hank already had two rounds of x-rays done and they could not find any sort of foreign body. He even had an ultrasound that indicated the same. His lipase levels were extremely high and his first x-rays showed up foggy around his pancreas. We figured that the inflammation around his pancreas was causing his organs to inflame so much that nothing would pass. This had to be it. Hank was dying and the last thing we wanted was for him to undergo a surgery that might ultimately be for nothing. We decided to just let Hank continue with his anti-inflammatory medication and wait for it to kick in. If there was no change by Monday, we would bring Hank in for surgery.

Dr. McDonald respected our decision and she showed us how give Hank his medication and how to force feed him with a syringe as he still was not eating at this point. They gave him enough liquid under his skin to keep him hydrated until Monday although this time they warmed it up to help him with his temperature and off we went. We brought Hank home and hoped that his mediation would begin to show change. We even went out and bought Hank a nice warm heated blanket. We attempted to give Hank his medication for the first time that evening and we found out how much a ferret can struggle regardless of how sick they are. It was like wrestling with a big old fish!

Saturday, January 7, 2017

We checked on Hank first thing in the morning and wonderful news… Hank pooped! We didn’t realize how happy one could get over a little bit of poop. Things were obviously getting back to normal inside Hanks little body. He was still a little lethargic but he perked his little head up to say good morning and as if to say “I’m feeling a little better today”.

We phoned the vet to give an update and we decided that we will not be bringing Hank in for surgery that day and that we were going to let his medication continue to do its job. Dr. McDonald was not scheduled to work this day but said she would stay on call for the weekend in case something happened and Hank needed to come in for surgery. Dr. McDonald is wonderful. We brought Hank in for a checkup because he didn’t eat or drink anything and we were unable to give him his medication the night before.

He was seen by another Doctor at Winrose. She took his temperature, checked his heart rate, and gave us more doses of medication. One of the nurses gave us some tips on how to make sure Hank takes his medication. This involved us making a Hank burrito. She also showed us that force feeding is even messy for her too. Hank stayed in his cage for the rest of the day, watching us from the comfort of his new blanket as we did our normal Saturday things.

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Teekca had to work today so it was just me and Hank at home. When I went to check up on Hank he jumped up and put his paws on the cage to meet me. I opened the door reached my hand in and he climbed right up my arm like he always does. Our little guy was feeling better! I decided to let him roam around the living room and what would you know… he started to play with me! Under the watchful eyes of his feline sisters Hank and I played until I brought out Riley and Darla. We kept Hank apart in our ‘sick time’ cage while he was feeling down. Even though they could always see each other they were so happy to be reunited.

Monday, January 9, 2017

Hank had a follow up appointment today. They gave him a checkup and what would you know, it looks like Hank is almost healthy again! His temperature is normal, his heart rate is normal, and he is back to his personable self. We will continue giving him is medication until he is done on Friday. Hank was on the mend!

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Well it’s been over one week since Hank had his near death experience and we are happy to report that he is pretty much 100%. He is done his medication, is back to eating and drinking, and is back to his playful, mischievous self.

We wrote this story in the hopes to show others how quickly things can go downhill for ferrets. Hank didn’t eat a mysterious foreign body like an earplug, but simply ate his sisters kitten food. We didn’t think anything of it because he eats a mixture of ferret food and cat food every day. What is a little kitten food going to do, right? While maybe adult food is okay for ferrets, definitely keep your kitten food away from them. Kitten food is high in fat which helps the kittens grow. The adult cat food that our ferrets have mixed in with their ferret food is super high in protein and is a bit higher quality than the kitten food we buy. As you already know ferrets are fairly sensitive little creatures and we definitely need to keep a close eye on what they eat. In total Teekca and I have spent around $1300 on Hank this past week on vet visits, medications, and his heated blanket. We hope that you can learn from our very expensive and scary lesson that we learned.

Stewart

Teekca

10.30.14

by debferret

Ferret First Aid Kit

It is highly recommended to always have a first aid kit on hand so you will be able to take care of your ferret should the situation arise.

Below is a list of required items to keep on hand;

Emergency phone numbers; make sure you have the vet information easily accessible and any other contact needed.
Ferret photos/vaccination records; it is also a good option to have photos of each ferret and records of vaccination on hand.
List of all medications your ferret is currently taking.

Emergency food ideas;

Jars of meat baby food-chicken with broth or chicken cooked/ground down in food processor/frozen in butter tubs/plastic containers (see Duck Soup)
Light Karo syrup or honey (for quick calorie boost)
Pedialyte or gatoraid (for de-hydrated ferret or just to keep system flowing)
Can of Royal Canin Recovery canned wet food (you get this from your vet) easily digested food for the sick monsters
A probiotic such as Marshalls probiotic
Canola or olive oil (something to help move bad indigested stuff through)
Petromalt or plain Vaseline for hairballs use for everyday or every other day

Cleaning, Lotion or bandages;

Calamine Lotion for balding ferrets, (relieves itchy skin and minor irritations from scratching)
Hydrogen Peroxide (for cleaning cuts)
Ear cleanser
Eye wash/rinse
Gauze pads Gauze wraps
Washcloths
Adhesive bandage tape (cloth tape holds the best)
Styptic Powder or flour (for bleeding nails)
Antibiotic ointment such as neosporin (for soothing and protecting cuts and scrapes)
Bene-bac (for replacing beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract after illness or diarrhea) – can be purchased com
Desitin (for rash and burn relief) or Any Diaper Rash Ointment   Petroleum Jelly (to help move a blockage through and for easing in the thermometer)
Kaopectate/pepto bismol/pesid/tagament (for diarrhea and soothing the tummy)
Immodium liquid (for diarrhea)
Baby wipes (for general cleanup)
Pediatric Liquid Benadryl ( for counteracting allergic reactions)
Heating Pad ( to help maintain body temperature in a young or sick ferret)

10.28.14

by debferret

The Long Way Home

As a shelter mom, I hope that every adoption is perfect and that the ferret(s) are going into their forever home.

In reality, life can throw us curve balls and the adoption breaks down. The MFA has a clause in the adoption form which states in part that the ferret(s) must be returned to the shelter if the person can no longer look after them. I check out Kijiji regularly for ferrets up for sale, I am checking to see if one of my adopted ferrets has shown up on Kijiji.

Approximately 2 years ago, two very special girls that I had adopted to a good home showed up on Kijiji.

Numerous attempts were made to the ferret owner to get him to comply with the legal adoption form he had signed. I was finally told the ferrets were going to a family member. Even my offer of a full refund fell on deaf ears. I was heartbroken and dearly hoped that they were in fact going to a family member and would be well cared for. I confess that it ate at me and I kept my eye open for them on Kijiji but I am not on the site every day.

About two weeks ago I was on Kijiji and I noticed two ferrets for sale. The ad caught my attention because these two girls were described as spayed but not descented! The pictures took my breath away. They were my two special girls and they were back on Kijiji again! My heart broke to think how many times they had been passed from hand to hand.

To make a long story short, I contacted the ad and through e-mails I was able to prove that these special girls had come from my shelter and that I in fact had their mothers, these two girls were replicas of their mothers. The couple had acquired them off of Kijiji but the girls had not settled in as they had hoped and they were looking to re-home them. This wonderful couple was gracious enough to give them back to me. I made a donation in their name and purchased them to show that I would never re-home them. These special girls were going to live out their lives with me and their mothers. This couple was rewarded with two year free membership for their kindness, for being true ferret people and saying what was best for the girls was the most important thing!

There seemed to be some recognition when the mothers and daughters met. However, one of the daughter’s Rico was not in good health. I suspected Cardiomyopathy and started her on Lasix. The other ferret Yippy was a plump girl, bright eyes, good coat but she would come out and do the “flat” ferret. Clearly all this re-homing over the last month had taken it’s toll on her.

Today Yippy is back to being a normal ferret in that she will run through the tubes and hide the stuffies. She will not go far from Rico and when Rico puts herself to bed, Yippy will drop everything to go and cuddle up next to her. Because of Rico’s heart issue I could not follow through with my plan to have the mothers and daughters in the same cage. That is my long range plan once I have Rico stable. I do let them all out together for short periods of time to interact. I am very worried that should I loose Rico to heart failure, Yippy may follow with a broken heart! I really want her to have a strong connection with her Mom and Aunty.

As of today Rico is holding her own. The fluid is gone from her abdomen but she is not eating much. I have started her on duck soup and that is not going well. I have to balance forcing the duck soup with her heart issue! Fortunately Rico loves Ferretvite and I am hoping the Ferretvite will stimulate her appetite. Rico is really not doing well so folks, please send your prayers her way.

Sadly, my Rico lost her battle before I could finish this post, rest in peace sweet baby. I got to hold you and love you – you came home.

Ginger & Snip, the moms

Yippy

09.13.14

by debferret

How to make Duck Soup /Soupies For Ferrets on a Kibble diet

updated January 2021

As a shelter mom for over twenty-two plus years, I am sure I have made enough duck soup to fill a child’s swimming pool. The smell of the pureed kibble is not wonderful and in the early years thanks to my sensitive nose I did gag, however I persevered – my ferret’s recovery from the flu, ECE, or surgery depended on it.

Always consult your veterinarian and follow their instructions. I am assuming that you have taken your ferret to your vet for treatment and you are following your vet’s instructions which may include feeding your ferret a “duck soup”. Duck soup should never be given instead of getting prompt veterinarian care.

* Please note this duck soup is only meant as a temporary food source for a few days. This is not meant as the only source of food for your HEALTHY ferret. Your ferret should go back to eating his regular food as soon as possible. How will you know your ferret is ready to transition back to their regular food? Always have a small portion of their regular food available in the cage so the ferret can choose.

**Our vet recommends our ferrets have Royal Canin brand Recovery canned wet food. It is the best choice for the first 48 hours. Because ferrets have not tasted this before, we have found that if you add a drizzle of Furo-tone / Salmon oil (or whatever oil you currently give your ferret ) will entice the ferret to try it. After 48 hours with our vet’s blessing; we switch from the canned wet food to our duck soup for a few more days until the ferret is showing good improvement.

Recovery brand wet food from vet

Supplies will you need;

A large bowl to soak your 2 cups of the kibble they are currently eating. There are other good duck soups out there for those of you who feed raw. This is not the time to introduce a new food
a kettle of boiling water – you are not boiling their food, you are soaking it in boiled water to be able to puree it. Hot tap water will not turn the kibble into a soft mush.
a blender to puree the soaked food
ice cube trays or small ziplock snack containers

Food used;

minimum of 2 cups of your ferret’s current kibble
- It is easier to do multiple batches then to double or triple your supplies. I burnt out my first blender. I now have an industrial blender and that allows me to make huge batches as I do have lots of furries!
a powdered probiotic from your vet or a powdered probiotic from Marshalls or plain yogurt. OPTIONAL. If your only option is the yogurt, only use a tiny amount. *please check the sugar content on the yogurt. We all know ferrets should not have sugar and some brands of yogurt have way too much sugar (even for us humans). If you are using the yogurt, the amount you will be using for those few days should not be an issue unless your ferret is already battling Insulinoma. If your ferret has Insulinoma do not add the yogurt. In the last few years, our vet has prescribed a powdered probiotic and we no longer use the yogurt. I do know some ferret owners do not have access to the powdered probiotic so the plain yogurt is better than nothing. As an example, Oikos plain yogurt has 6 grams of sugar per cup which breaks down to 48 teaspoons. There is 0.125 gram of sugar in a teaspoon. That is negligible! Consult your vet for a powdered probiotic. The Marshalls probiotic is also now available. When I originally used this recipe, you couldn’t get powdered probiotics.
high protein easily digestible canned wet food from your vet – Royal Canin Recovery or a high protein meal replacement such as Glucerna in Vanilla flavor only. A bottle of Glucerna is 237 ml or 50 teaspoons. There is 4.4 grams of sugar in those 50 teaspoons, so using one teaspoon in your duck soup mix would mean 0.088 gram of sugar, negligible for the few days you are using it. You are using this to add a punch of protein. Do not use the Glucerna if your ferret has Insulinoma. Can’t get the wet food from your vet, a great alternative is a good quality canned wet cat food containing only water and meat. Chicken with broth baby food is also a good choice.
OPTIONAL – the oil based vitamin supplement you are currently using as an incitement to get the ferret to try the soup. The shelter currently uses Salmon Oil cut 50% with olive oil. Some of our ferrets will not take Salmon Oil so those ferrets have a 50/50 mix of Canola Oil and Olive Oil. You are only drizzling a tiny little bit on the warmed up dish of duck soup to encourage your ferret to lick the duck soup. If your ferret willingly licks up the duck soup without, then you don’t need to use the Oil.

Making the duck soup:

Pour boiling water over the two cups of kibble – you are not boiling the kibble
1. Enough to cover the kibble by one inch
2. Let soak until kibble is soft and can be broken down with a fork, you may need to add more boiling water as the kibble soaks up the moisture
Put 1/2 cup of the mushy kibble in the blender, add enough hot water if needed to help the blender puree.
Repeat until the 2 cups of kibble have been pureed.
Pour the pureed kibble into the containers you have selected, cool pureed kibble and then freeze
please note, you have not added the canned wet food/Glucerna, the probiotic or oil to this step of making the duck soup. These items are added at the time you are warming up the tablespoon or two of duck soup to be served to your ferret.

You can keep pureed kibble frozen until needed, just thaw in the fridge

pureed ferret kibble

probiotics from Marshalls

probiotic from your vet

Recovery brand wet food from vet

High quality wet cat food such as Nutrience

Put one heaping tablespoon or two of the pureed kibble in the dish
warm your duck soup in the microwave for a few seconds (10 to 15 seconds) **stir with your finger to ensure there are no “hot spots” that can burn your ferret’s tongue. You want the duck soup warm not hot or “cooked”.
Add probiotic as per your vet instructions or Optionally one half teaspoon of Glucerna to the mixture.
Add the canned wet food from your vet
heaping tablespoon of pureed kibble

Finished duck soup, you can drizzle a small amount of the oil supplement such as Salmon Oil/Olive Oil/Flax Oil/ canola oil to entice your ferret to try the duck soup. Optional

Giving your ferret the duck soup:

place a towel on your lap
hold your ferret in one hand and offer the duck soup dish with the other hand
your ferret should slurp down the duck soup

How to teach your ferret to like the duck soup:

If your ferret is not interested in licking the soup at all, drizzling a little of the oil you are using as a supplement such as Salmon Oil/Olive Oil/Flax Oil on it will make the soup enticing. (It goes without saying if your ferret has never had any Oil based supplements before this won’t work)!

Some other options are;

Apply a little of the duck soup mixture to the tip of your ferret’s nose. The ferret will automatically clean it’s nose. You may have to do this repeatedly for the first few feedings while your ferret is in reality managing to lick off maybe a teaspoon worth of duck soup.
Dab your finger in the duck soup and offer your finger to your ferret. Perhaps even rubbing your duck soup coated finger along the ferret’s back gums. I have known ferrets who enjoy this method that they demand this royal treatment long after they have learnt to like the duck soup.
You may have to scruff your ferret, suck up some duck soup in a syringe and apply the syringe to the back corner of the ferret’s mouth. Slowly, gently squeeze the syringe as you do not want to have your ferret “inhale” the duck soup.
- Never offer the syringe via the front of the ferret’s mouth!
Using a baby’s spoon (think Dollarama) put a little duck soup on the spoon and offer the spoon to your ferret. Believe it or not I have had ferrets who will finish a full dish of duck soup one spoon full at a time, but will not touch the dish itself.

It typically take several days for the ferret to learn to like the texture of the duck soup and willingly lick it right from the dish. Please note that if you go months without offering duck soup you will be back to square one as the ferret will no longer ‘remember’ liking this texture.

When you see your ferret eating their normal dry kibble, that’s a sure sign they no longer need the duck soup. You might want to continue to Give your ferret a tablespoon or two once a week so that he will see this as a weekly treat. If your ferret is sick, the duck soup mixture can be offered every 4 to 6 hours depending on whether the ferret is also still eating some hard kibble.

In the shelter sick ferrets get a dish of duck soup for breakfast, lunch, supper and bedtime. Your ferret should not need to be only the duck soup for more than 4 or 5 days. A critically ill ferret should be under the care of your vet and this recipe would not be suitable.

Miscellaneous Questions:

Q: Why am I using my ferret’s own food – kibble?

A: Because he is familiar with the taste and smell, if the first time your ferret is having duck soup is during an illness this is not the time to introduce a new food and cause further stomach upset.

Q: Why the probiotic?

A: If your ferret has diarrhea as part of its illness; you need to introduce probiotics to help the ferret. Your vet clinic may suggest that you use a powdered probiotic that is now available from them.

Q: Why the canned wet food or Glucerna?

A: The canned wet food from the vet or the Glucerna are a ‘high protein‘ food. You don’t want your ferret using more energy to crunch and eat hard kibble than what he is going to benefit from nutritionally. Licking he high protein food burns minimal calories so the nutrition stays on the positive side.

Q: How long should I give my sick ferret the duck soup? You give the duck soup as long as the ferret is too sick/weak to eat his dry kibble. His dry food should still be available to the ferret in his hospital cage for him to have if he wants it. Once the ferret is feeling better (watch the litter box) you will know to slowly reduce the servings of duck soup until you are back to offering it as a weekly treat.

Q: Can I give duck soup every day to a healthy ferret?

A: So long as it’s a small portion and not meant to replace a meal, there is no harm. Lots of ferret owners will give their ferret a teaspoon of duck soup with Melatonin mixed in as an easy way to give the daily Melatonin.

Q: My vet told me to give my sick ferret a can of their Recovery brand wet food – should I?

A: What my experience has shown is that this is a food that is foreign to the ferret and so he most likely will turn his nose up at it and may even gag. However, we know we can get around that. The canned wet food is very important in the first 48 hours. If your vet indicates the wet canned food is necessary then add a teaspoon it to your duck soup mixture when warming it up. The idea behind the canned Recovery wet food is the same reasoning; You want your ferret to burn as few calories as possible eating a high protein food so that the ferret is not expending more energy to eat than what the ferret is gaining. Canned wet cat food is a source of high protein food in an easy to digest formula. I always have some on hand. I know some of our members offer it once a week as a treat so that they continue to like it.

You would then want to have your ferret get used to the canned wet cat food while he is healthy. Stick with Canned wet cat food with ingredients that are water and meat. Most ferret wise vets will be happy to hear you have introduced them to canned wet cat food.

Q: Why do I keep smelling the duck soup long after feeding my ferret?

A: Well, I would say you are ‘wearing’ some duck soup in your hair, on your arms, maybe a smudge of it across your cheek where your ferret rubbed his face! If I have had a ferret fight me to take his duck soup I will look like I rolled in the stuff – but I am a crazy ferret mom and will do what it takes even if it means my ‘perfume’ has all the dogs in the neighborhood drooling over me!!