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Post by goingpostal on Feb 13, 2011 19:43:32 GMT -5
I'm wondering what everyone's experience has been with rescues, are some ok with raw feeding and minimal vaccinations or is it a no-go? I don't have any ferret rescues very close to me, a couple 5-6 hours away and two more that are 8-9 hours so I don't know if I will end up ever going that route anyways, but from what I have seen most require yearly rabies/distemper, which I do not do. The shelters up here don't really get ferrets in ever, I've seen one close to me in the last year and he was gone quickly, but I try not to haunt petfinder too much so maybe I am missing some. I'm not "really" (you know how that goes!) looking for more right now but probably will be in the coming years.
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Post by Heather on Feb 13, 2011 19:53:29 GMT -5
Are you asking about shelters? I know that I can do raw feeding and minimal vaccs through Randy's shelter in Mississauga but I've been hearing some really negative feedback on the some of the shelters in the US. You will have to enquire with each particular shelter. I'm sure it depends from shelter to shelter.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2011 20:04:32 GMT -5
Maybe you can agree to vaccinate once and then follow up with yearly titers? That way you can show they're still protected and maybe even show that yearly vaccinations aren't necessary to provide immunity.
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 13, 2011 20:38:47 GMT -5
Aren't titers quite expensive? I am willing to give distemper and booster, not every year after that though, but don't really feel rabies is needed for my crew. My vet is 2.5 hours away and spacing the shots is a real issue, especially if I wanted to give both rabies and distemper since I don't want them given together that would be 3 trips all very close together. Making multiple trips isn't the easiest, I work 2 jobs, my b/f works nights, and we have to borrow a larger vehicle. Right now we try to take them 2x a year for checkups and blood glucose which runs me about $240 for four ferrets. Plus gas, food, anything wrong with them, extra tests, etc. The spring trip (we try to go with decent weather), we take the dogs as well for heartworm stuff, this year they need shots and I expect my bill to be around $550+. Adding 8 titers every year could get completely unmanagable.
Of my current crew only Pandora has any shots, I'd have to look but I know she has distemper and maybe rabies, but that was when she was a kit. The rest I assume never saw a vet before I got them. Maybe I will see about running a titer on her this year just to see the results and cost. Maybe I'll just haunt craigslist or continue to take in cast offs, but I feel bad for so many special needs, groups, or biters in rescue that are difficult to home that we could take in.
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Post by Heather on Feb 13, 2011 20:45:36 GMT -5
Titers are indeed more expensive, but they do allow your vet to see if your fuzz has ever had their immune system challenged.
ciao
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 13, 2011 21:27:42 GMT -5
Now, I did some searching being unfamiliar with titers, and it seems like a high or low titer is not actually indicative of your pets resistance to a virus?
Found online, is this correct?
"A titer test does not and cannot measure immunity, because immunity to specific viruses is reliant not on antibodies, but on memory cells, which we have no way to measure. Memory cells are what prompt the immune system to create antibodies and dispatch them to an infection caused by the virus it "remembers." Memory cells don't need "reminders" in the form of re-vaccination to keep producing antibodies. (Science, 1999; "Immune system's memory does not need reminders.") If the animal recently encountered the virus, their level of antibody might be quite high, but that doesn't mean they are more immune than an animal with a lower titer. "
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2011 22:49:56 GMT -5
I think that a low titer doesn't mean they aren't protected, but a high titer means they usually are. So, if you measure yearly and the titers are consistently high, your baby is most likely protected. Titers don't take into account other non-specific immune defense like macrophages, neutrophils, NK cells, etc.
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Post by joan on Feb 13, 2011 23:57:30 GMT -5
That's correct. The only time a titer is really useful is when it's run 2-3 weeks after the first shot to measure the degree of immunity produced. If the titer proves that immunity has been produced, then no boosters are necessary and in fact can be harmful.
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Post by Heather on Feb 14, 2011 2:40:19 GMT -5
All that a high titer means is that the immune system has been challenged for that particular microbe or virus. Just because it's a low titre doesn't mean that your little one isn't protected, the immunity just hasn't been recently challenged. If there is no titre reading then you may indeed have an issue.
ciao
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Post by katt on Feb 14, 2011 5:33:33 GMT -5
I am surprised Candice hasn't popped in here. She just went though all of this. I beleive she had terrible luck finding any shelter that would allow you to adopt if you feed raw.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2011 9:29:35 GMT -5
Our local shelter requires ADV testing. For things like vaccines ferrets should have the first initial vaccines for immunity but after that they usually don't get any more (it depends on ferrets age, and if they get a titer the level). The shelter doesn't believe in over vaccinating, especially for the old fuzzies. Our shelter would be perfectly fine with someone doing minimal vaccines and titers. My personal ferrets get their first shots, then one year boosters. After that I titer them. Their personal ferrets are also on raw and whole prey so they are all for natural feeding. Now the shelter kids are not on the raw and prey, as much as they would like to do that for them, the donations coming in the shelter are so minimal, like alot of shelters they just couldn't afford to do raw and prey for all residents. They do have a couple fuzzies there that like mice and quail and will occasionally be treated to one  Not sure where you are located but I know of 2 shelters I could recommend, one in New Castle, PA and the other State College, PA |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2011 9:50:10 GMT -5
What have your titer results been over the course of several years? Do they still show a "high" level of antibodies, even if they haven't been exposed to CDV?
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 14, 2011 10:20:32 GMT -5
I'm in northern MN, like right next to Canada north. Guess I should make that show on my profile again.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2011 11:06:28 GMT -5
When I rescued Dancer, got him his distemper shot but had a severe reaction to the vaccine. So there after I would titer. His levels were too high the first titer which is probably why he a reaction. There after I titered him every year and his levels remained high those 4 years I had him and he didn't need any more vaccines.
Dakota is over 6 yrs old now, I don't titer her anymore, she is too old to get the vaccines and last time she had one it didn't go well.
Tipsy, as a kit he got his first series, then his one year booster. We were unable to titer him - no vet was able to draw blood, tipsy was a beast! And couldn't even knock him out bc he was allergic to anesthesia. So he didn't get anything after his 1 yr booster. Since we could not draw blood what we planned to do is about age 4 give him another vaccine, and let it be at that. Because from what we seen the ferrets seem to be holding the vaccines and not needing it. Sadly Tipsy passed away in Dec bc of rare malignant cancer.
With my new kids, Hailey she'll got her kit series and now will get a one year boost, then only titers. Blitzen is unknown age, he got his initial vaccines and will titer after that.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2011 12:27:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the info.
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