The Story of James Robinson

Hey Girl,

(I thought I saw the name Danielle when I first answered)

First, My heart goes out to you! Your Kits sound Very Much Loved!

About 6 years ago, I got my best friend and I, 2 Ferrets; Riot and Rhapsody. Riot needed a blocked kidney removed at age 2 and that cost $800.

Early this year, Rhapsody needed nodules removed from her nerve endings, she had similar symptoms as your little boy. Her surgery and follow-up care was about $4000. She never recovered and eventually passed. One of the major problems was that in California, Ferrets are illegal. Rhapsody needed transfusions and we were only able to locate one person willing and able to give blood (the donor must be over a certain weight, under a certain age and usually male).

This spring, we heard of a guy that had to give up his boy and girl or risk losing his apartment, so we adopted his two Kits.

Now, Riot, the 6 1/2 year old, is getting to be like an old girl. Her vision is not as good, she is losing hair (it’s not uncommon in certain breeds) at her tail. Her back legs are not as powerful as they used to be. I know that the average life span of a ferret is 9 years, but it’s possible that she may not be with us as long as we would like.

A couple of things that have helped:

1). I add Pedialyte (you can find it in the baby section of most any Grocery store or Target/Walmart) to their water bottles a few times per week. When Rhapsody was being cared for, they kept on injecting electrolytes into her. Add it to the water, don’t give it to them straight. They like the Orange or Grape the most. (I also buy the generic when it is available — there doesn’t seem to be any difference other than price).

2). I give Riot her own time where she can eat FerretVite. It’s a vitamin supplement. She has more energy after she eats it, but beware, it’s also making her fat!

My friend and I don’t feel that she (Rhapsody) had good Veterinary care. The Vets didn’t seem to agree on her treatments.

I am listing two websites that will be able to answer some of your Medical and Care questions. Also, please feel free to contact me (send me an e-mail and I will answer you back so you have my address in your mail folder) anytime that you need to! If I can’t answer your questions, I will try to get you an answer as soon as I can.

The cost is ultimately going to be your final decision. I don’t know if I knew ahead of time, if I would have spent so much on Miss Rhapsody, but it all boiled down to; She was just a little baby girl that never hurt nobody!

Good luck and Nickie and Snowball are very lucky you are their Mom!

James in San Diego