Life moves on in this four ferret household

Jebabba's ashes are back, and Steve is going to pick them up for me sometime in the next couple days. (the vet's office is near where he works, about an hour away.) I still miss him a lot, and when I did ferret laundry yesterday, I set aside the bag he slept in or on for the last couple days he was with me. It smells like him, and I just couldn't bear to lose that yet.

But overall, I'm doing well. The remaining fuzz are playing like little loonies, and Frank is giving me even more kisses than usual. It's like they understand that I'm sad, and they're doing what they can to make it better. They're handling the loss pretty well too, but then, they were only with him for a month or so. Frank seemed to take it the hardest - he stuck pretty close to me for the day or so after Jebabba died. It seemed like he slept with Jebabba more than the others did.

Mr. Big is continuing to recover well from his surgery. I put him back in with the others last Thursday evening (a week after his surgery), and he had a blast running around with them and playing. The surgical site is pretty much healed up, and he's already growing lots of hair back (unlike my little Babbies, who never grew the hair on his belly back). Abby was very glad to have Mr. Big back in the fold, since they like to curl up together for naps. Nine times out of ten I find him sleeping with her. She curls up against him so it looks like he's spooning her - totally adorable.

When I'm able to, I'm going to write the post remembering Jebabba's life. It's still a little too fresh to deal with right now, but hopefully soon.

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ferret, ferrets

Jebabba is gone

It happened so fast. I thought for sure on Tuesday that I was going to have to let him go last night at his follow up appointment. But Wednesday morning and afternoon, he actually seemed to be fighting it. He licked a little food off of my finger and the syringe, he got up to go to the bathroom himself, and he seemed more interested in being around Frank and the girls. Unfortunately, it seems now that the will to live he displayed that morning was the last he could muster.

On the way to the vet's on Wednesday evening, he got a bloody nose. He had some bruising, and some black in his stool (digested blood). We decided at the vet's that he probably had a clotting issue, but given his energy that day, we would try some different medications and vitamins to see if we could keep him with us.

We got home, and he refused to eat again after that. Then around midnight, he pooped, and it was half stool, half frank (red) blood. I knew that was the end of any hope that he might last longer. I spent the night with him, holding him and cuddling him. Then this morning, I called the vet and we took him in.

Jebabba passed away this morning at around 11 am. He died in my arms as I told him how special he was and how much I loved him.

He was the last of my original seven, and there's a huge hole in my heart right now. I don't know if anything can ever fill it. He was so special, as were they all. It was so hard to leave him there, but I take comfort in the fact that he is reunited with his friends. They are all whole, all healthy, all happy and playful. I know that he will be so happy to see Bonk again, and right now he's dancing and dooking up a storm. But despite that knowledge, my heart is breaking.

I miss you so much, my sweet Jebabba, my Babbers. Though you are gone, you will live on in my memories and the stories I tell of your antics. You were my sweet, crazy guy, and you brought so much to my life. I hope that you left knowing how much I love you and how much you meant to me.


Jebabba
Spring 2003 - September 2007

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ferret, ferrets

Jebabba is fading

Jebabba is still refusing food - he hasn't eaten voluntarily since Sunday morning, not even to lick it off my finger. The anti-emetic is continuing to work (still no vomiting), but I don't think it's helping. He's still getting nothing from the food he's keeping down.

I gave him fluids twice yesterday with no effect. He just lays in his sleep sack or on his bed. His stool looks exactly like his food, like it's going in one end and coming out the other with no changes whatsoever. I don't even know if that's possible, but that's what it looks like.

I keep wondering if I should move his appointment tomorrow night up to tonight to spare both of us another day of this, but I'm not ready to give up yet. I know I'm being irrational - when a ferret refuses food and treats completely the way he is and has the look in their eyes like he does, it's the end. But I keep hoping for a miracle. He's the last of my original seven, and it's killing me to watch him like this, but I can't let him go. I know that if nothing changes by tomorrow night, I have to. I can maintain him like this, but I don't want to. His quality of life is greatly diminished, and it's not fair. But like I've said before - I'm a selfish bitch, and I want him with me. Why is it that ferrets can so totally rip our hearts out of our chests when they leave us?

Last night I prepared him for what's coming - we spent the evening together with him in a sleep sack in my lap, and I told him all about the Rainbow Bridge. How he would be healthy and whole again, how he could have all the chicken baby food and treats that he can't have now, and how he's going to see all of his friends again, and they'll play together again - all young, all healthy, all happy. I told him that Bonk was waiting for him along with Cheeba, Mojo, and Sophie, and they would have a great reunion. I told him how brave he's been and how strong, and how if he wants to let go, it's ok.

I just hope that when tomorrow comes, I can make the decision I have to make without delaying. He deserves better than to linger in this state. I love him too much to let him do that.

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ferret, ferrets, IBD, Rainbow Bridge

Jebabba's not any better, but not really worse either

Well, so far today, Jebabba has kept his food down, and it's been about 35 minutes since he ate. I gave him the anti-emetic about 30 min before feeding him, and though he still didn't want any food (I had to force feed him with a syringe - he wouldn't even lick if off my finger), at least he's keeping it down for now. He immediately went to sleep in a hidey hole both after his shots and after his feeding. He let me hold him for a bit on my lap though.

He seems weaker, but I'm sure that's probably largely due to barely eating anything for 2 days and having issues keeping down what he actually did eat. I'm going to try to feed him every couple hours or so to see if I can get his strength back up. I'm not sure it's doable though. He seems to have given up - he fought me when I fed him, but not nearly as much as he has. I just hope he realizes soon that food isn't something he needs to fear anymore.

I have a little more hope today, but not much. If I could just get him eating again... I will force feed him to get him through something, but I will not force feed him for the rest of his life. That's traumatic for both of us, and it's a crappy quality of life for him.

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ferret, ferrets, IBD

The hits just keep coming...

So last Monday I had to take Jebabba to the vet - something is going on with him. After eating less and less food all week, he started vomiting Saturday morning. I called the vet, and thankfully she was in. It was too late to take him up (it's an hour and a half away, and they were closing soon), but we talked over the phone for a while. Decided to take him off the antibiotic, since after 5 days, he should have been getting better, not worse, if it was going to help. Took him down to 1/3 of the pred he was getting, and she told me to come in to see her Sunday night (at the Lupron clinic).

He threw up again last night after I gave him his pred in the evening, so I didn't even bother to give it to him this morning. What's the good of treating his IBD if he can't even keep food down because of the meds? This morning he started whimpering a bit if I moved him too quickly or pressed on his stomach. She did an ultrasound and couldn't find anything obvious, though she said his stomach feels funny.

Anyway, we decided to take him off all oral medications since he stresses so much about taking anything orally. He's on pred, famotidine (pepcid), and Compazine (anti-emetic), all via sub-q shots. I hope this actually works. I have a very bad feeling about this though - I've had it since last night. And every other time I've had that feeling, I've lost the ferret within a week or two. He still has lots of energy to fight meds and food, but not for anything else.

I take him back in Wednesday for a follow-up so she can see how he's doing.

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As I finished typing that last sentence, he started throwing up again. He cried when he was dry heaving. I tried to help him, but what can you do when a ferret is throwing up? Not much other than try to talk to them and hope they even want you there. God, I hate this so much. I feel so helpless. All I can do is give him his meds and hope they work. I don't know if I'm making him feel any better or if he even wants me around. At least with Cheeba I knew that he was happy in my lap when he cuddled with me so much in the last months of his life. But Jebabba isn't a cuddler, and he isn't a lap ferret. I feel useless, completely useless.

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ferret, ferrets, IBD

Mr. Big is going into surgery today

I have some sad news - Mr. Big (yes, I've finally named our new DEW) has a bladder stone. Yesterday he started having trouble peeing, and he would try every five minutes when he was awake. The last couple times he went before we left for the vet's office, it had a definite orange-red color to it, so I kind of suspected it may be a stone. I was hoping it was just a bad UTI or bladder infection though. But they did x-rays, and determined that he had a stone. Thankfully there is only one, and he seems to be in good health otherwise. They're going to go in today to remove it, and I hope to have him back here with me tomorrow.

I felt so bad leaving him there last night, but he went home with the shelter mom who fostered him out to me because she's a vet tech at that animal hospital. I know he's in the best of hands, and she'll take wonderful care of him until he's back here with me, but I miss him so much already. I've only had him a month or so, but he's such a complete sweetheart - very cuddly, loves to give kisses. I really hope he pulls through the surgery ok. Claudia just lost one after a bladder stone surgery, but he was 11, and there were 8 stones. Mr. Big is only 5, and the x-ray showed just the one stone.

As upset and worried as I am right now, I'm very thankful that it isn't prostate problems. I had enough of that with Mojo to know that I never want to deal with that again if I can help it.

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ferret, ferrets, blader stones, adrenal disease, prostate, Mr. Big