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Post by ferretlover468 on Jul 2, 2024 17:42:53 GMT -5
Hi! My ferret is currently on Instinct Ultimate Protein cat food. I rescued him, and he was on a cat kibble that included peas. He has insulinoma, and takes prednisone 1x a day. When I switched him to the new food, he seemed okay for a while. I did add some freeze dried raw every other day, however stopped that.
Suddenly, he started up with the diarrhea again. I guess he had previous issues with his last owner, and the cat kibble with peas was the only thing that worked (so they claimed). What is going on? Is there anything I can do to calm down his stomach? Probiotics? Bone broth?
Thank you
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Post by ferrell on Jul 2, 2024 20:59:47 GMT -5
Diarrhea sucks ![:(](http://www.holisticferretforum.com/images/Ferret_Smilies/sad.GIF) From what I've read, freeze-dried raw can sometimes cause issues if introduced too quickly. Maybe try reintroducing it veeeery slowly? Like, tiny amounts over weeks. Just an idea, I could be way off base here
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Post by silentdook on Jul 3, 2024 10:58:35 GMT -5
Are you giving him at least a 3 hour window between the kibble and the raw feeding? I know it's tough with insulinoma so I'd go lower end of 3 hours as long as he's on his pred. Is there a particular reason the vet has him on that only once daily? Usually it is 2x day.
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Post by lyles on Jul 4, 2024 7:46:24 GMT -5
Hi! My ferret is currently on Instinct Ultimate Protein cat food. I rescued him, and he was on a cat kibble that included peas. He has insulinoma, and takes prednisone 1x a day. When I switched him to the new food, he seemed okay for a while. I did add some freeze dried raw every other day, however stopped that. Suddenly, he started up with the diarrhea again. I guess he had previous issues with his last owner, and the cat kibble with peas was the only thing that worked (so they claimed). What is going on? Is there anything I can do to calm down his stomach? Probiotics? Bone broth? Thank you When switching from one food to another, it's best to do so in a slow, gradual mix of the old food to the next. GI issues is usually the result of switching too fast. I would also question why he's only on pred once a day, as it works for 12 hours. You can also try adding some powdered calcium to the food to help solidify the stools, ground eggshell works best from my experience.
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Post by ferretlover468 on Jul 4, 2024 17:54:16 GMT -5
So he isn't on the raw anymore because we assumed that was the problem, but it hasn't stopped. I'm not sure why he's only on prendisolone 1x a day, that's what the vet recommend
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Post by ferretlover468 on Jul 4, 2024 18:59:40 GMT -5
I can talk to the vet, as I'm learning more I saw that usually its 2x a day so I was a bit confused too. The powdered calcium/eggshell is a great idea thank you so much!
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Post by Corvidophile on Jul 4, 2024 19:41:40 GMT -5
Sometimes just switching foods can cause diarrhea to crop up until the ferret gets used to it. Probiotics are a great idea for first line defense that won’t do any harm if it doesn’t work, Feline Fortiflora works well in ferrets. Beyond that, he may need to have his stool checked for bacterial, viral, and parasitic problems. Heliobacter excess is a common cause of diarrhea that is treated with combo of medication, usually heartburn meds and antibiotics. I agree with double checking with the vet the reasoning behind the once daily dose of pred, it needs to be given twice daily, sometimes even thrice daily, to keep blood sugar levels stable.
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