sudden illness/death

Question
howdy,

I just lost my furry little guy to a sudden illness.  

guess I'll cover the basics.  he was 4 1/2-5 years old (I'm 2nd owner, had him 3 years) and had never been sick to my knowledge, lived in a decent sized, 4 level cage.  I stuck with what the original owner started and fed him a high protein dry kitten food.

on a Sunday evening I noticed that he wasn't getting around well.  he wasn't moving his hind legs very well, kept his eyes shut and seemed weak, maybe breathing a little heavier than usual.  I picked him up and noticed signs of loose stool and an eye matted shut.  I cleaned up both ends and gave him some of the vitamin paste.  I also cleaned up the cage, which I had neglected for quite a while.

didn't think it was a big deal, so I put him back in the cage and went to bed.  got up 6 or so hours later and he was worse.  at this time I crushed up some of his food, mixed with water/vitamin paste and spoon fed him several spoonfuls, the "broth" mostly.

I put him back in his cage and got ready for work.  I had tried to come home and fed him while at work but couldn't break away.  when I got off work, he had passed and was already into rigor.  he was just curled up like he was sleeping.

I'll admit I was probably a horrible "ferrent", the 1st year was pretty good, but the next 2 I was working 70+ hours a week and didn't get to play with him as much as I should have.  I guess I probably noticed signs a while back, no happy dance, not quite as active as he was at first, but still seemed healthy.

there are 3 things I'm wondering about.  I had given him some anti-hairball treats that I realized later were expired.  also, I had added in a treat/seed mix with his food.  I realized later that he might have been just scooping out his food into the catchtray under the cage and maybe not eating much, indicating he didn't like the new mix.  so no clue how much he was actually eating the last month.  and, like I said earlier, I was bad about keeping the cage/litter clean.

could any/all of these have caused his illness/death?  I fear the answer is yes, plus had I been more attentive, I might have noticed things quicker and been able to act faster.

I guess this is also a cautionary tale for those who have taken their furry little guys for granted like I did.    :(

Answer
Hi Cameron,

I am so sorry for your loss. This is an incredibly hard thing to deal with when you're not feeling guilty about it, let alone when you are. I will tell you that it wasn't completely your fault, I don't think. I do agree that maybe there were things you could have done better, but you know that so I'm not going to say anything more. I doubt the expired hairball treatments had anything to do with it, although those things are ridiculously sugary and hind end weakness can be an indicator in insulinoma, which is like diabetes in ferrets and that happens with ferrets when they eat too much sugar. Unfortunately, it is also a sign of many other things, so there is no way for me to tell you exactly what lead to his unfortunate passing. Also, he was considered a "geriatric" ferret, so maybe old age was working against him a little, but again I'm not completely sure. I know that if you get another ferret, you might use this is a cautionary tale for yourself. Maybe ferrets aren't the right pet for you, or maybe just not right now. I don't mean to be rude or anything, as I know that this is a difficult time for you. I just want you to keep in mind that he is in a better place now. If you have further questions, please let me know. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews