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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2014 18:47:10 GMT -5
Hello,as you may know Teddy had a cardiac event that has left him with very little use of his hindquarters. He is also incontinent to a certain extent. He knows he has to go, but can't get there fast enough. I have done the search for massage, oatmeal baths and physical therapy for his legs and am going to the vets tomorrow (she's holistic and very good) to learn how to express his bladder properly. Right now he has really red skin because of the feces and urine exposure. Can or should I use colloidal oatmeal baths to help this? If so, how often is the maximum. It's difficult, because I don't know what I can't use due to heart condition side effects. I also feel I should be careful with letting him get too excited (bath issues), because his heart doesn't work well.
This is a log of things that are happening with Teddy. This may help others if they have this problem or problems.
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Post by Heather on Sept 29, 2014 19:41:07 GMT -5
I damp wipe Boris. He's not fond of the cleaning but he doesn't like to "bathe" and it stressed him too much. He's my heart baby. One of the bonuses about a spinal thrombosis is that they do get some mobility back and they often are able to express their own bladders, eventually. This often takes a couple of weeks. Boris has not suffered one of these but he is carrying way too much weight causing an incontinence issue. I usually try and mop him up the instant he goes on himself, if I can catch him in time and put him in the litter box the litter will help keep him clean. I also cut down his litter box so that he doesn't have to fight to get into the box.
Keeping our seniors and sickies clean overrides all the normal ferret care. You do what you can to keep them comfortable and clean. Using mild soaps or even just water really helps. After soaking make sure you dry him well so that he's comfortable
Good luck.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2014 20:06:08 GMT -5
Thank you so much Heather. So I can use the oatmeal and continue to wipe him. I keep him on potty pads at night and probably will during the day.
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Post by Heather on Sept 29, 2014 20:17:00 GMT -5
I would. Let's face it, it's about keeping them comfortable.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2014 7:58:01 GMT -5
Have you ever had a ferret that you did acupuncture on? Is there a danger of infection with the needles and incontinence? Teddy got an acupuncture treatment yesterday. He also got his bladder expressed, so he was feeling better one way or another. I am not certain whether or not to continue with acupuncture though. I did get advice on using hawthorn to help with his heart condition. He REALLY doesn't like Pimobendan.  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2014 10:30:50 GMT -5
OK, here's a stupid one, that I just figured out. When they are paraplegic, they have trouble grooming themselves. So any wet fur is like a wet diaper. If you don't brush it out, they get diaper rash. I write this because I thought that it would dry by itself like when he was normal. Now I have to help him recover from a bad rash. This is for others who don't know.
I use a combination of a towel (or towel-like object), a really soft baby brush, and vaseline.
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Post by Heather on Oct 1, 2014 13:11:18 GMT -5
Try using sudocreme instead of vaseline. It's an antiseptic cream and will help heal the rash whereas vaseline will trap any moisture next to the skin (it does help keep it away, but doesn't work near as well when dealing with fur).
I wish I could use an acupuncturist...but the vet who does it here will not treat ferrets. I would use it in an instant if I could.
Boris hated the vetmedin...you call it Pimobendan. He reacted to it like he would metro. He ripped his mouth open, peed himself, screamed, gagged, pooped...he's a bit of a drama queen. It helped him but the stress was too hard on him, we opted to stop giving it. He gets his lasix and his fortekor but he would have benefited greatly from being able to take the Pimobendan too.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2014 14:55:43 GMT -5
OK, sudocreme it is. His legs are kicking stronger, albeit because I am wiping the tender skin, but it's a good sign. And he peed a real pee by himself YAY! (Must savor victories.) I am really grateful that Teddy is such a mellow guy. He would try to spit the stuff out and walk away, but that's about it. He really didn't care for the needles and kept trying to pop them out.  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2014 19:49:20 GMT -5
My friends had to do this with their rat when he was extremely sickly and at the end of his life, I'll ask them what they did to keep him clean.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2014 20:33:10 GMT -5
All hail the Sudocreme! Sudocreme is my friend!
I used it last night and by this morning, the redness was gone. It was really red. Now I just do a good rinse when he boos and dry him off and Sudo or let him wander around and Sudo.
I think he rattles his cage when he goes, to get my attention. I'll have to pay closer attention to the time span. I got a good syringe too, so now he's taking some of the Pima. Eventually I think I can get him to do full dose.
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Post by Heather on Oct 2, 2014 22:21:51 GMT -5
Fantastic stuff isn't it. It's amazing healing cream. I'm glad to hear his rash is healing up. See if you can get several syringes. Get yourself some clear nailpolish and cover each syringe (over the numbers and writing). This will allow you to get decent usage out of the syringes. If you don't you will have the numbers off the syringe within a couple of weeks
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2014 22:51:18 GMT -5
His liver is really large. This has happened today at some point. I may be hypersensitive to anything at this point-you know, after fixing one thing, waiting for the next thing to happen. But I looked at the labels on the two tubes of Sudocreme I got. The active ingredient for both was zinc oxide, ok.
But, one has water, mineral oil, petrolatum, beeswax, dimethicone, sorbitan sesquioleate, microcrystalline wax, PEG-30 dipolyhydroxystearate, magnesium sulfate, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, potassium hydroxide, propylparaben, tocopheryl acetate, aloe barbadensis leaf juice.
The other has BHA, cod liver oil, fragrance, lanolin, methylparabin, petrolatum, talc, water.
Am i worried about the first one for no reason, or should I visit the store again?
(I figured out that when his bladder is really full, his liver feels really large. The rule is: keep the bladder from becoming that full. Can you imagine having to go to the bathroom so badly your stomach was distended? OWW!)
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Post by Heather on Oct 3, 2014 12:06:26 GMT -5
Do you know that the Sudocreme I've got doesn't have the same ingredient listing that yours does??!! This is both hilarious and frustrating. I've got a second bottle sitting around here somewhere, I've got to find it and see if the ingredient listing is different.
I would be more concerned about the second one....cod liver oil is a favourite but should not have oil, this would give him a reason to eat or lick it. The BHA if consumed is a carcinogen. Fragrance...really??? You don't need that either. Strangely enough I would go with the first. Perhaps a couple of the chemists on board could give us a hand about interpreting this mess. My bigger concern is ingestion and if it tastes good he will lick it. One of the reasons why so many of us use Sodocreme is that it tastes bad and we use it on the scruffs of ferrets who are getting roughed up. It heals the bite marks and deters the offender from biting. I've been using it for a couple of years now.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2014 15:27:10 GMT -5
Just wanted to check which Sudocrem you are using? There are 3 product under the Sudocrem banner now. I believe the one you want is the antiseptic healinc cream. The others 'care & protect' is a nappy rash prevention cream And the 3rd is 'skin care cream' this is essentially a daily moisturiser cream for cosmetic use. The below link explains the 3 products & their uses and has full ingredients lists. Hope this is of use to you  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2014 15:27:41 GMT -5
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