Missy my 7 year old ferret

Question
Hello,

I have noticed that Missy hasn't been eating and she has been sleeping alot lately. When she is up she runs around like she is confused. She does drink plenty of water. She has gotten thin and her poops are very little. Those are the obvious symptoms that I have picked up on.  Is it that she is old? Should I change her food? All her life I have fed her 8 in 1 Ultimate.

Thank you for your help

Answer
Hi Elizabeth:

Sorry to hear that Missy isn't feeling well.  Do you give her regular treatments for hairballs? Ferrets all collect fur in their tummies over time from licking themselves and it can cause the small, thin poops you are describing - because food/poop/anything can't get through the digestive system, so she isn't getting enough nutrition and probably has a tummyache all the time.

I would strongly recommend a visit to the vet for a barium x-ray to check for hairballs. Once it has progressed to the stage you are describing, with thin poops, you are in a critical, emergency situation, so you really need to get her in as soon as possible - I mean hours or maybe a day or two, not weeks. She won't have weeks, if that's what is wrong with her and it's a very very painful way to die, so please don't ignore this, okay?

You might try giving her a huge glob of Vaseline with some Ferretone mixed in it - keep offering it to her until she eats a large amount. It will NOT hurt her, but may help move along a blockage. Do this a couple times a day over the weekend if you can't get to a vet until Monday. You can also try mixing up a "soup" recipe if you give her soup and add 1/2 tsp Metamucil to a bowl of her warm soup......if you don't have a soup recipe, I will put my experience with blockage and what I fed my ferret below; maybe that will help your little Missy.  If you don't see (and yes, I mean check every poop by spreading it out on a paper towel and looking for hairballs in it...look for more than one or two little hairballs, six even eight or ten hairballs could be in a ferret who doesn't get hairball treatment regularly, so keep feeding the hairball treatment (the soup and metamucil AND vaseline/ferretone) throughout the weekend and if her poops are still skinny on Monday, get her to a vet immediately. Here is my experience and the details of how to help her over the weekend if you decide you want to try that:

HAIRBALL TREATMENT:

I have a ferret who had to have surgery for a hairball last year. I have had this ferret since he was a tiny kit and my house is very ferretproofed, neat and tidy, and I watch the kids closely when they are out to play.  He started having skinny poops and I was ready to take him to the vet...but a friend of mine has cats recommended that I try a product called "Vetasyl".

VETASYL:   http://www1.shopping.com/xFS?KW=vetasyl&CLT=SCH
UNCLE JIM'S DUK SOUP MIX: http://www1.shopping.com/xFS?KW=Uncle+Jim%27s+Duk+Soup+Mix&CLT=SCH

Vetasyl is a safe bulk product made of psyllium and barley that absorbs liquids as it travels thru the digestive system and works like Metamucil works for people.  I gave him the CONTENTS OF ONE VETASYL CAPSULE (toss the cap itself away) blended into 6-OZ OF VERY WARM WATER and TWO LEVEL TEASPOONS of Uncle Jim's Duk Soup Mix (by Marshalls and available at pet stores or online pet supply stores).  I let him eat all he wanted...and he ate all 6 oz of it!

I repeated this and fed him 'lax soup' ONCE A DAY FOR THREE DAYS IN A ROW.  The first two days he passed a few small hairballs here and there, not enough to explain the tiny poops I had been seeing.  However, on the third day I gave the lax, he passed a hairball the size and shape of my little finger!!  It had some green pus on one end of it, so no doubt he was very very close to having a very very serious problem - but it was averted!  

Since then, I have been giving the 'soup lax' treatment about once every two weeks. I make up the soup at bedtime and he goes to bed with a tummy full of warm soup.  By morning when I check the litterbox, I often find little hairballs that he has passed in his poops.  The first time, for the initial 'clean-out', give it for three days in a row to be sure everything is out, but subsequent treatments can be just one feeding of the 'soup' every couple of weeks.  

My large male ferret eats the whole 6 oz of soup. Smaller ferrets may eat less, but they should eat at least 1/2 of the mixture in order to be effective. The secret is in giving it with enough fluids so that it can swell up in the intestines and move whatever it finds in its path out.  You can get your ferret familiar with Uncle Jim's Duk Soup - it's a treat to my kids - they LOVE it and if you use 2 level teaspoons in 6-oz of warm water and the contents of one Vetasyl capsule, the proportions are just about perfect!  Initially you may have to dip your finger in it, then into their mouth until they develop a taste for it and eat it readily.  I haven't seen a ferret yet who doesn't love Uncle Jim's, so it is perfect for this....and MUCH healthier for our ferrets than the sugary vaseline laxatives we have given for years (and they don't work as well as Vetasyl!).

UPDATED (best) VETASYL/UNCLE JIM'S BLURB:
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My best gut feeling is always to treat for obstruction since the treatment is so easy and so very effective.  I don't trust the goopy petroleum-based cat hairball laxatives in the tubes; I've never in all my ferret-owning years seen even one of my kids pass a hairball after being given even huge doses of that stuff!  I treated them faithfully every single weekend for years and yet had a ferret with a hairball (he groomed himself a lot) who ended up with a hairball - AND, then while he was recovering and I was trying to figure out how he got a hairball while I had been giving the petroleum-based goopy gunk religiously, I discovered Vetasyl and mixed it with Uncle Jim's Duk Soup Mix (recipe and instructions to follow) and here we were about one month after surgery and he passed another HUGE hairball about the size and shape of my little finger - AND it had a bunch of green pus (I know, waaaay too much information LOL, but we have to know to watch for these things) on one end of it, meaning it was in the process of becoming very very infected. BAD news for my ferret - but this Vetasyl alnd Uncle Jim's mix saved his life - literally.

So, now I give him Vetasyl and Uncle Jim's every week come rain or shine; when he's shedding or I think he may have gotten ahold of anything he shouldn't have, he gets a 3-day or 5-day treatment to be SURE whatever it is passes through quickly and harmlessly.  I believe every ferret owner should keep this stuff on hand and use it at least weekly.  Even tho their ferret may not LOVE it the first time they eat it - ferrets rarely love anything the first time they are introduced to it. We have to keep letting them taste it - sometimes several times a day, until they get used to the new flavor. My large male ferret BEGS for his 'soup' and will sit and watch while I prepare it and slurp down every drop of it just as often as I will make it for him - that's the goal we hope to get every ferret to love it that much! The trick is to start them slow, let them lick it from your fingers at first until they get used to it; then maybe a spoon. Be ready to have some spit out - have paper towels ready. That's not unusual.  Within a week or two, I promise, your ferret WILL adapt and love their 'soup'.   The BONUS is that when your ferret is sick, Uncle Jim's can also be made without the Vetasyl and given to a ferret to either help get fluids down a ferret who needs extra fluids, or mix it a bit thicker for a ferret who isn't eating his kibble well and needs to get some nutrition down.

WHERE TO GET VETASYL AND UNCLE JIM'S (check here for best prices):

VETASYL:   http://www1.shopping.com/xFS?KW=vetasyl&CLT=SCH

UNCLE JIM'S DUK SOUP MIX: http://www1.shopping.com/xFS?KW=Uncle+Jim%27s+Duk+Soup+Mix&CLT=SCH

WHAT DO I DO WITH IT WHEN IT GETS HERE?

BEFORE STARTING, mix the "soup":
Use the CONTENTS OF ONE VETASYL CAPSULE (toss the cap itself away) blended into 6-OZ OF VERY WARM WATER and TWO LEVEL TEASPOONS of Uncle Jim's Duk Soup Mix.  Make sure the mixture is WARM when you feed it to your ferret.  

PREPARE THE AREA (this is just for the first few times to introduce them to it):
Have a couple paper towels (for any food that is spit or spilled); a spoon, the warm "soup", a really good attitude, quiet unrushed atmosphere, and A WARM WET WASHCLOTH.

SIT IN A COMFORTABLE, RELAXING ATMOSPHERE, HOLDING THE FERRET ON YOUR LAP:
Talk to him for a minute, reassure him it's okay. Look at the ferret in the eyes, stroke his face. Gently but firmly SCRUFF the ferret firmly just below the ears with your left hand let his back feet rest on your lap. Use your right hand to gently wipe his face with the WARM washcloth, working from his nose back to his ears, all the while talking to him, working your way all the way around his little face and neck.  This is all done in a gentle, loving way, soft tone of voice, even sing a lullabye if you wish.  This activity helps relax the ferret lets him know you want to (scruff) be in charge; and (warm washcloth gently stroking facial fur back - grooming) helps him become submissive.

Next, (you will need to re-grasp your scruff from time to time until he gets used to this enough that he will eat it on his own, but for now, continue to scruff him) dip your finger into the "soup" (be sure it's still warm) and touch it to your ferret's mouth (be ready for him/her to  spit - have a paper towel handy).  (**IMPORTANT NOTE:  BE SURE you are holding the ferret UPRIGHT, not laying him backwards like a baby; he will choke - keep his SPINE UPRIGHT and you will do just fine.)  Try again however many times necessary. Each time, take the opportunity to stir the mixture with the finger you are dipping into the mixture.  Continue until the ferret gets a good taste of it several times. Best way is to put a little bit behind the canines (the long teeth) with your fingers so they HAVE to taste it. Usually once they taste it, they will be surprised that they actually like it! :-)  DON'T RUSH THE FERRET - this should be a relaxing time. Once they get a good taste, they will lap it up willingly and it will take very very little time to do this.  You want the ferret to eat as much of the 'soup' as possible - ALL OF IT if it will (my large male ferret will eat nearly a whole six ounces by himself!)  It's just the initial introduction that you have to go thru all this ceremony. My ferrets - I just mix a bowl and put it on the floor and they come running and empty the bowl. :-)   

This IS a product that 99.99999% of ferrets love, so please don't give up - keep offering it; keep the atmosphere light, sing to your ferret; make this a happy time, not a tense time and that will help. Your ferret will enjoy this time if you make it a routine by doing it the same way each time.   WHEN FINISHED - ALWAYS 'RE-SCRUFF', WIPE YOUR FERRETS FACE WITH A WARM, WET WASHCLOTH, STROKING FROM THE FRONT OF THE MOUTH BACK BEYOND THE EARS ALL THE WAY AROUND THE FACE AND NECK.  Again, grooming behaviors that reinforce the message to your ferret "I love you - I am taking care of you".  I think ferrets who get this kind of care really are more mellow and more anxious to please their owners. I do things like this with my own ferrets and don't think to share them, but am going to try to be better about sharing *all* the things we do here at our house that makes it an especially ferret-friendly place to be.

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****ONLY ONE URGENT CAUTION***   You MUST use PLENTY OF WATER when you mix this! STIR WELL - you can even pause while the ferret is eating and stir it again, as the part that expands and does the work does tend to settle in the bottom of the bowl; but you MUST NOT use less water - If you use less water, YOU CAN CAUSE A BLOCKAGE WITH THIS MIXTURE IF USED IMPROPERLY. The product is psyllium and barley (like Metamucil for people) and it expands after ingested, so it NEEDS the water to expand AND to keep it moving along through the
intestinal tract.  DO NOT USE THE DIRECTIONS ON THE LABEL FOR DOGS & CATS (says to just 'sprinkle it on their food' (that would KILL a ferret!) - using this products for ferrets is considered and "off label use", which means you must use it differently for that animal. Ferrets MUST have LOTS of additional water for this product to work as we are using it.
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    REPEAT TREATMENT A MINIMUM OF ONCE A DAY
                FOR THREE DAYS IN A ROW
                     for the initial treatment.

Do watch your ferrets stools while he/she is taking this medication. KEEP anything that is passed in the poop during this time. IF it is part of something, of course you want to be looking for the missing part, to see if it passes also. Check around the house, in his toys, bedding, cage, etc. If you cannot find any missing parts, you must *assume* that he has also swallowed that part, so continue to give the Mixture and watch for that part to be expelled in the stool also.

AFTER the three days of taking the soup every night, you must continue to give the "soup" every night until *no* hair pieces, *no* toy parts, nothing strange comes out in your ferret's poop - then you know your ferret's intestinal tract is clean. For some ferrets, three days is enough, some need four or five or even seven days until everything is out of them!  You must examine your ferret's poops so know when to stop.

EXAMINING THE POOPS:
Place fresh poops on several layers of folded over paper towels and spread poop out with popsicle stick or something similar.  Spread it thin so you can see if there is a little ball of fur, any small fur ball or toy.  It's not unusual to not see anything the first day; sometimes not even the second day, but by the third day, almost everyone sees SOMETHING - I've had some wild reports of interesting things people have found too!  So, please DO check so you know what your ferret is getting into - so you can RE-ferretproof your house AND be sure these items are out of your ferret's reach in the future.  Also, you will know for sure when it is safe to stop your ferret's "soup" treatment.

AFTER THE INITIAL TREATMENT:
I give a 3-day treatment every other weekend to my ferret.  He grooms himself a lot and he has a history of one surgery for hairball removal, which means he has some scar tissue inside his intestines that will especially grab any fur passing through his intestines and be even more likely to get another hairball.  Most "normal" people can probably treat a healthy ferret with ONE 3-DAY TREATMENT ONCE A MONTH - but do watch to see if they are passing anything in the treatments and if they are, extend the treatments to 4 or 5 days if necessary.

DURING SHEDDING TIME:
I give the treatment DAILY during shedding time.  I also "pluck" my ferrets (that's a whole 'nuther story) to remove loose fur, but anybody whose ferret is shedding should be giving them the soup DAILY until they are SURE the shedding is over.

THE PROOF IS IN THE.......er, POOPS!
You will KNOW your ferret has healthy intestines because your ferret will poop big fat poops like he/she did when they were just a kit. Most older ferrets poop small poops because almost every ferret has at least a partial blockage - it's NOT necessary - there IS a cure and it does NOT involve surgery!  A ferret with a clean intestinal tract is a LOT happier, energetic and just all over in better health than one that is getting either no hairball treatment or a petroleum-based goopy laxative, even if they get it on a daily basis - those are SO messy; and they just do NOT work!
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NOTE:  You may substitute Metamucil 1/2tsp instead of one capsule of Vetasyl; you can use your own homemade "soup" recipe as long as you make it very very watery. The vetasyl/Metamucil needs a LOT of water to work properly OR it can actually CAUSE A BLOCKAGE itself!

Hope this helps. My thoughts and prayers are with your little girl...and you too! Please update me.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers