| hairball? - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Tom Jones |
Our 4-year old male, Gadget, seems a little skinny.
I took him in for his annual distemper vaccine last month and asked the doc
about this. The doc looked him over, weighed him, and stated that, given my
description of his behavior (normal appetite, plays well, nothing unusual)
that he seemed fine. He said that some ferrets don't plump up in winter so
much as they get older. Last winter by this time, he had really packed on
the weight.
I've been thinking; is it possible that the old guy has a hairball in his
gut? If so, could this inhibit weight gain? I gave him some laxitone
tonight after playtime, so we'll see what that may produce.
Should I take him back to the doc for some tests? As I said, he seems
perfectly normal, eats well, gets into the usual troubles during playtime
and wrestles energetically with our other male pretty much every day.
Any words of wisdom from some of you old salts would be much appreciated.
Gadget, Little Penny, Boris & Natasha
db
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| Cap |
"Tom Jones" <carpetshark9473@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<Ab8Ib.31352$PK3.8676@okepread01>...
> Our 4-year old male, Gadget, seems a little skinny.
>
> I took him in for his annual distemper vaccine last month and asked the doc
> about this. The doc looked him over, weighed him, and stated that, given my
> description of his behavior (normal appetite, plays well, nothing unusual)
> that he seemed fine. He said that some ferrets don't plump up in winter so
> much as they get older. Last winter by this time, he had really packed on
> the weight.
>
> I've been thinking; is it possible that the old guy has a hairball in his
> gut? If so, could this inhibit weight gain? I gave him some laxitone
> tonight after playtime, so we'll see what that may produce.
>
> Should I take him back to the doc for some tests? As I said, he seems
> perfectly normal, eats well, gets into the usual troubles during playtime
> and wrestles energetically with our other male pretty much every day.
>
> Any words of wisdom from some of you old salts would be much appreciated.
>
> Gadget, Little Penny, Boris & Natasha
>
> db
Only way to be sure it's not a hairball is to schedule a Barium X-ray.
The good thing about a Barium is sometimes the procedure itself will
move an obstruction along. If I even suspect something similer I never
hesitate to have one run.
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| Melissa |
How are his stools?
A few things come to mind based on what you wrote below.
#1 Have you (or your vet) kept track of his actual weight from one year
to the next? That'd be your best indicator of whether or not he's
significantly thinner.
#2 Could be nutrient absorption problems, and adding something like
"Prozyme" to the food might help -but this is just a complete guess on
my part.
#3 Could be signs of adrenal problems which might result in muscle
wasting, or coat thinning (which might make him *look* less plump).
Or he might be perfectly healthy as your vet said ;) If you're really
convinced, however, that something's not quite right with him, follow
your instincts and get some of these things checked out. Consider a
barium series too like Cap suggested if you're concerned there might be
some kind of partial blockage in there.
Good luck,
-Melissa
In article <Ab8Ib.31352$PK3.8676@okepread01>,
"Tom Jones" <carpetshark9473@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Our 4-year old male, Gadget, seems a little skinny.
>
> I took him in for his annual distemper vaccine last month and asked the doc
> about this. The doc looked him over, weighed him, and stated that, given my
> description of his behavior (normal appetite, plays well, nothing unusual)
> that he seemed fine. He said that some ferrets don't plump up in winter so
> much as they get older. Last winter by this time, he had really packed on
> the weight.
>
> I've been thinking; is it possible that the old guy has a hairball in his
> gut? If so, could this inhibit weight gain? I gave him some laxitone
> tonight after playtime, so we'll see what that may produce.
>
> Should I take him back to the doc for some tests? As I said, he seems
> perfectly normal, eats well, gets into the usual troubles during playtime
> and wrestles energetically with our other male pretty much every day.
>
> Any words of wisdom from some of you old salts would be much appreciated.
>
> Gadget, Little Penny, Boris & Natasha
>
> db
>
>
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| Tom Jones |
"Melissa" <nospam@nospam.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:A01Jb.268046$Ec1.9225046@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> How are his stools?
>
> A few things come to mind based on what you wrote below.
>
> #1 Have you (or your vet) kept track of his actual weight from one year
> to the next? That'd be your best indicator of whether or not he's
> significantly thinner.
No, good point. The vet did weigh him, so I'll give him a call and see what
the difference was.
>
> #2 Could be nutrient absorption problems, and adding something like
> "Prozyme" to the food might help -but this is just a complete guess on
> my part.
Haven't heard of that stuff, where does one get it?
>
> #3 Could be signs of adrenal problems which might result in muscle
> wasting, or coat thinning (which might make him *look* less plump).
He has lost a bit of fur on his tail, but nowhere else; the vet didn't thing
that was anything to be concerned about; he could have lost it playing.
>
> Or he might be perfectly healthy as your vet said ;) If you're really
> convinced, however, that something's not quite right with him, follow
> your instincts and get some of these things checked out. Consider a
> barium series too like Cap suggested if you're concerned there might be
> some kind of partial blockage in there.
>
> Good luck,
> -Melissa
>
> In article <Ab8Ib.31352$PK3.8676@okepread01>,
> "Tom Jones" <carpetshark9473@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Our 4-year old male, Gadget, seems a little skinny.
> >
> > I took him in for his annual distemper vaccine last month and asked the
doc
> > about this. The doc looked him over, weighed him, and stated that,
given my
> > description of his behavior (normal appetite, plays well, nothing
unusual)
> > that he seemed fine. He said that some ferrets don't plump up in winter
so
> > much as they get older. Last winter by this time, he had really packed
on
> > the weight.
> >
> > I've been thinking; is it possible that the old guy has a hairball in
his
> > gut? If so, could this inhibit weight gain? I gave him some laxitone
> > tonight after playtime, so we'll see what that may produce.
> >
> > Should I take him back to the doc for some tests? As I said, he seems
> > perfectly normal, eats well, gets into the usual troubles during
playtime
> > and wrestles energetically with our other male pretty much every day.
> >
> > Any words of wisdom from some of you old salts would be much
appreciated.
> >
> > Gadget, Little Penny, Boris & Natasha
> >
> > db
> >
> >
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| jumpingmouse & kylie |
I have ProZyme that I got online at KV Vet Supply. Maybe some pet stores
would carry it? Dunno. I highly recommend KV tho, pricewise and they ship
really fast too.
jumpingmouse & kylie
"Tom Jones" <carpetshark9473@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:67iJb.48554$PK3.719@okepread01...
>
> "Melissa" <nospam@nospam.com.invalid> wrote in message
> news:A01Jb.268046$Ec1.9225046@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> > How are his stools?
> >
> > A few things come to mind based on what you wrote below.
> >
> > #1 Have you (or your vet) kept track of his actual weight from one year
> > to the next? That'd be your best indicator of whether or not he's
> > significantly thinner.
>
> No, good point. The vet did weigh him, so I'll give him a call and see
what
> the difference was.
> >
> > #2 Could be nutrient absorption problems, and adding something like
> > "Prozyme" to the food might help -but this is just a complete guess on
> > my part.
>
> Haven't heard of that stuff, where does one get it?
> >
> > #3 Could be signs of adrenal problems which might result in muscle
> > wasting, or coat thinning (which might make him *look* less plump).
>
> He has lost a bit of fur on his tail, but nowhere else; the vet didn't
thing
> that was anything to be concerned about; he could have lost it playing.
> >
> > Or he might be perfectly healthy as your vet said ;) If you're really
> > convinced, however, that something's not quite right with him, follow
> > your instincts and get some of these things checked out. Consider a
> > barium series too like Cap suggested if you're concerned there might be
> > some kind of partial blockage in there.
> >
> > Good luck,
> > -Melissa
> >
> > In article <Ab8Ib.31352$PK3.8676@okepread01>,
> > "Tom Jones" <carpetshark9473@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Our 4-year old male, Gadget, seems a little skinny.
> > >
> > > I took him in for his annual distemper vaccine last month and asked
the
> doc
> > > about this. The doc looked him over, weighed him, and stated that,
> given my
> > > description of his behavior (normal appetite, plays well, nothing
> unusual)
> > > that he seemed fine. He said that some ferrets don't plump up in
winter
> so
> > > much as they get older. Last winter by this time, he had really
packed
> on
> > > the weight.
> > >
> > > I've been thinking; is it possible that the old guy has a hairball in
> his
> > > gut? If so, could this inhibit weight gain? I gave him some laxitone
> > > tonight after playtime, so we'll see what that may produce.
> > >
> > > Should I take him back to the doc for some tests? As I said, he seems
> > > perfectly normal, eats well, gets into the usual troubles during
> playtime
> > > and wrestles energetically with our other male pretty much every day.
> > >
> > > Any words of wisdom from some of you old salts would be much
> appreciated.
> > >
> > > Gadget, Little Penny, Boris & Natasha
> > >
> > > db
> > >
> > >
>
>
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| swamp |
On Fri, 2 Jan 2004 11:45:37 -0600, "Tom Jones"
<carpetshark9473@yahoo.com> wrote:
>"Melissa" <nospam@nospam.com.invalid> wrote in message
>news:A01Jb.268046$Ec1.9225046@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> How are his stools?
>>
>> A few things come to mind based on what you wrote below.
>>
>> #1 Have you (or your vet) kept track of his actual weight from one year
>> to the next? That'd be your best indicator of whether or not he's
>> significantly thinner.
>
>No, good point. The vet did weigh him, so I'll give him a call and see what
>the difference was.
I bought a digital kitchen scale on the internet for ~$30. It comes w/
a 2L bowl which nicely holds a ferret, goes up to 5kg, and reads out
in 5g increments. (It also does up to 10 lbs. in ¼ oz. increments.) If
they're healthy I weigh 'em every 2-3-4 weeks and mark the weight on
the calendar. When they're sick the frequency goes up, of course. The
scale gives me a record of their seasonal weight changes, let's me
know for sure if their weight has dropped significantly when they're
sick, and gives the vet a set of empirical data to help in the
diagnosis.
-- swamp
"Who, me officer? What's a ferut? These guys?? No, they're Polish cats."
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| Melissa |
In article <67iJb.48554$PK3.719@okepread01>,
"Tom Jones" <carpetshark9473@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > #2 Could be nutrient absorption problems, and adding something like
> > "Prozyme" to the food might help -but this is just a complete guess on
> > my part.
>
> Haven't heard of that stuff, where does one get it?
It's a enzyme food additive for pet food. What's nice about this, as
opposed to prescription enzymes, is that Prozyme is an over the counter
product and can be put on dry food and does not have to sit for 15
minutes in wet food before being eaten. Many other enzyzme products
require this. Prozyme is much safer in this respect and I always had
good results with it. Basically, it helps your pet digest and absorb the
nutrients from the food better as a result of the additional enzymes.
Vets may carry it or you can get it online. Not sure if large pet stores
carry it but smaller ones often do.
> > #3 Could be signs of adrenal problems which might result in muscle
> > wasting, or coat thinning (which might make him *look* less plump).
>
> He has lost a bit of fur on his tail, but nowhere else; the vet didn't thing
> that was anything to be concerned about; he could have lost it playing.
Whether or not it's something to be concerned about is a judgement call,
but I think it's unlikely he lost it playing. If some tail fur is going
and you think he's looking a bit thinner, I'd consider the *possibility*
of adrenal disease. He's the right age for it (though it can hit at any
age.) An experienced ferret vet would be better able to determine the
most likely cause. I dont' know anything about your vet or whether or
not they're ferret experts, so use your own judgement as to whether to
stick with your vet's assessment for now or to get a 2nd opinion.
-Melissa (not a vet!)
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