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Elder Care
The best advice we
can give any ferret owner is to start preparing NOW –
BEFORE your ferret hits middle age! It is never too early
to start preparing for the inevitable golden years. As your
ferret ages, you will spend a lot of time figuring out how
to keep him happy, safe and comfortable. You will learn
a lot about his various health needs including his various
illnesses, their prognoses and their treatments. The most
important lesson to learn is about the importance of planning
ahead.
When choosing a vet for your ferret, at
whatever age, be sure that you choose one that has worked
with older ferrets in the past. The older a ferret gets,
the more likely they will be to become afflicted with a
wide variety of health problems, and just like humans have
doctors that specialize in geriatrics, you need to find
a vet with experience treating oldsters. You should research
preventative health measures for common ferret illnesses
and discuss these with your vet, including the often overlooked
dental care issues.
One of the most important things you can
do is to pay particular attention to his/her nutritional
intake. Arm yourself with as much information about healthy
foods and vitamin supplements for ferrets as you can. Check
out the food chart on this site at www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food-treats.html.
This lists, in order of nutritional benefit, most of the
kibble-type foods that are available. There are suggestions
widely available for simply supplementing a diet of kibble,
or for creating your own nutritionally-balanced feeding
regime (on the Internet, and in Kim Schilling’s book
“Ferret’s for Dummies”). Depending on
the health of your older ferret, you may need one or more
of these recipes, commonly referred to as ’Duck Soup‘.
Be sure to let your vet know what you are feeding and how
much, as this may help them make a more informed diagnosis
when there is a problem.
One of the more common occurrences in older
ferrets is hind-end weakness. This can result as a side
effect from a wide variety of illnesses that plague older
ferrets. As your ferret ages, watch to be sure he or she
is managing in their current cage. You will have to consider
his abilities and decide if he can navigate the ramps in
his cage. If you notice your fuzzy having difficulty, you
may need to consider a one-story cage or a cage with very
gently sloping ramps. It would be ideal if you can get something
that is large enough for his cage mates to move with him/her.
Older ferrets are much more susceptible to stress. Moving
to a new cage can be stressful enough, without loosing the
only friends your fuzzy has known.
Inside the cage is one place that your older
ferret’s safety has to be considered, however, outside
the cage can be a much more precarious place. Not only can
hind end weakness make it more difficult for your ferret
to maneuver, but just as elderly humans loose their hearing
and eyesight, so do ferrets. Keep an eye out for signs that
your ferret might be going blind or deaf. If you place an
object in the middle of the floor that wasn’t there
before, does your ferret run into it? If you make a loud
noise, does your ferret respond? Don’t leave things
on the floor or in the middle of your ferret’s play
area that may become roadblocks, if you suspect your ferret
may be blind. If you must move furniture or other objects,
put some type of scent on all four corners of the object
so your ferret may ’see it’ with his/her nose
(many people commonly use essential oils of fruits or herbs/spices
as most are non-toxic and will not visibly damage your furniture
or woodwork). While deafness in ferrets is more common than
blindness, both are usually tolerated well. You will probably
not need to make too many adjustments to the surroundings
for your deaf ferret, but it is important to be aware that
your actions may startle him/her, as he/she can’t
hear you coming.
Imagine what it would be like to go into
the later years of your life not knowing what you had weighed
over the years, what your blood pressure had been or even
how often you normally go to the bathroom? Now imagine how
helpful it could be when it comes time to make treatment
decisions for your ferret to have records of things like
their CBC, or to know if the amount of weight loss or gain
your ferret is experiencing is normal based on the time
of year, or even to know what different changes in their
bowel movements mean. Creating a health record that starts
from the moment you bring your ferret home, could help you
see patterns that may otherwise be overlooked.
Paying attention to your ferret’s
‘bodily functions’ earlier in his or her life
will pay off when they are older. You should take note of
color, consistency and yes, unfortunately, odor of their
urine and feces throughout your ferret’s life. Watch
the other end, too. Notice how changes in eating pattern
(type of food, frequency of consumption, etc.) result in
changes in elimination. If you see any patterns (due to
stress, season change, etc.), write them down in your pet’s
health record. Also notice how different medications effect
your fuzzy’s disposition and elimination and put that
in their health record. As they get older, they may have
strange reactions to medications that they had no reaction
to in the past. You may not remember them a year or more
from now, and the information could come in handy.
Incontinence or blockages, either of the
urinary tract or bowel, are commonly experienced by elderly
ferrets. Incontinence coupled with any instability in your
ferret’s hind end can obviously be messy. Be prepared
to do a lot of laundry, as things in the cage will frequently
be soiled. Also, be prepared to clean your ferret often.
Do not use a harsh shampoo (ferret or human) to clean their
sensitive old skin. Use a mild shampoo or just water to
wash away any soil and be sure to dry him or her thoroughly.
I use disposable puppy training pads with older ones to
shorten the amount of time I spend cleaning cages. They
also eliminate the need for any dangerous disinfecting agents.
Blockages can be very dangerous and should not be ignored!
If you notice your ferret straining to eliminate, take them
to a vet for evaluation and treatment as soon as possible.
Any episodes should of incontinence or blockages should
be logged in your pet’s health record.
It is been helpful to observe your ferret’s
normal eating habits and toilet habits had throughout his
life. It is also important to know when and how much his
weight changes from season to season and to have a history
of blood counts (especially one from his adolescence). CBC’s
(Complete Blood Counts) are usually suggested for ferrets
on a yearly basis once they reach a certain age, generally
4 or 5 years old (see http://www.ferretuniverse.com/health/cbc.asp
for more information on CBC’s). Consider having a
CBC done at 2 years, at 4 years and every year after that
if you can afford it. Record this information in your ferret’s
health record. Additionally, many of us only record the
weight of our younger ferrets when we take our yearly trip
to the vet. You can record your ferret’s weight every
couple of months using a digital scale at home. You will
be glad you did later.
One of the most important things you can
do is to plan ahead financially. Starting a savings account
for your ferrets when they are young may seem like an outlandish
idea, however, elder care can get extraordinarily expensive.
Even if you just have an envelope where you put $5 per week
or a jar with all your change in it, pennies add up over
time. Any money that doesn’t have to come out of your
bill money or vacation fund can help relieve a lot of financial
stress during an already emotionally stressful time.
The final and most significant thing you
can do for your ferret is to never give up hope! Letting
go when it’s time is an important and difficult decision
for any family. Keep in mind though, that ferrets are resilient
little creatures. We have all seen ferrets recover from
battles that no one thought they could win. While all of
the possible health issues that your older ferret might
encounter are not covered here, hopefully this information
prepares you for the basics of what you will face. Remember
to use your health record as a guide, use all of the great
knowledge you have learned while living with your ferret,
get educated about ferret illnesses and what to expect when
your ferret is ill, notice any changes in your ferret’s
behavior and as always, work closely with your vet. Utilizing
as many of these tools at a time as possible, may get your
ferret on the road to recovery.
The best advice we can give anyone, new
owners and experienced care givers alike, is to read some
of the great information that is available in books and
on the Internet and start planning for the future now.
For further reading
There
are many wonderful websites on the Internet that discuss
care giving for elderly ferrets. Some of the topics that
are generally covered include keeping our friends happy
and comfortable. A few of these are:
http://www.theanimalhospital.com
(click ‘Health Topics’ then click ‘Special
Needs of Older Ferrets’)
http://www.ferretnook.com/olderferret.html
http://www.exoticpetsvet.com/ferrets.html
http://www.petcarevabeach.com/old.html
http://www.catfancy.com/critters/library/older/
It is generally advisable to check
at least two websites to verify the information provided
and, as always when it comes time, work closely with your
vet.
