Barney update...

Well Barney has a "mass" in his abdomen. The vet believes it to be a
tumour on the spleen or liver. Because Barney was wriggling like a
right ferret, the vet couldn't work out exactly where it was. So
*incase* it is worms, everyone is being wormed with panacur over the
next 5 days, and then we'll reassess Barney, possibly with an X-ray.

He's pooping, peeing and eating as normal. He's dooking as normal
although he's a little quieter. I guess this is one of those times
when I seriously need to assess things. If he needs an operation
because of a tumour, it's going to be £450 (US $850) I don't have,
with a prognosis of "not brilliant" and a really difficult recovery.
Or I can opt for palliative care with a "see how it goes" attitude
which will lead to a much shortened life, without pain, which I'm
inclined to do. At the moment, he's not hurting, and he's got good
quality of life so I don't have to make too much of a decision (yet).

I've tried to think what I would do if it was my beloved HRFL Tiger or
one of the other cats and I would like to believe that I have taken
the decision based on that. If I thought that HRFL would have a less
than 50% chance of recovery, opposed to much shortened but good
quality of life, I *believe* I would make the same choice. But
honestly, I don't know, because in true reality I would sell my soul
to the devil for HRFL if I thought it would help make him well.

It's not helped by the fact that Cara has been potentially been
diagnosed with hip dysplasia this evening and is going to be seeing an
orthopedic surgeon and having X-rays done on 11th March to make sure.
Fortunately for me, *she's* covered by pet insurance because I'm
looking at a *huge* on-going bill.

Anyway, that's the update. ( Thank you for all your purrs, they've
really helped. Please could I have a few more, because I am feeling
really conflicted and confused about my attitudes to my animals right
now.

Thanks

Helen M

Anyway, that's the update. ( Thank you for all your purrs, they've
really helped. Please could I have a few more, because I am feeling
really conflicted and confused about my attitudes to my animals right
now.

Thanks

Helen M

Helen,
Whatever you decide it will be the right decision because you love all
of your animals and only want what is best for them. You have our most
sincere purrs and prayers and gentle headbutts in the days to come.

Julie, Hobbes, Lacey, Sam and Barnabus

wrote in message
...
Well Barney has a "mass" in his abdomen. The vet believes it to be a
tumour on the spleen or liver. Because Barney was wriggling like a
right ferret, the vet couldn't work out exactly where it was. So
*incase* it is worms, everyone is being wormed with panacur over the
next 5 days, and then we'll reassess Barney, possibly with an X-ray.

He's pooping, peeing and eating as normal. He's dooking as normal
although he's a little quieter. I guess this is one of those times
when I seriously need to assess things. If he needs an operation
because of a tumour, it's going to be £450 (US $850) I don't have,
with a prognosis of "not brilliant" and a really difficult recovery.
Or I can opt for palliative care with a "see how it goes" attitude
which will lead to a much shortened life, without pain, which I'm
inclined to do. At the moment, he's not hurting, and he's got good
quality of life so I don't have to make too much of a decision (yet).

I've tried to think what I would do if it was my beloved HRFL Tiger or
one of the other cats and I would like to believe that I have taken
the decision based on that. If I thought that HRFL would have a less
than 50% chance of recovery, opposed to much shortened but good
quality of life, I *believe* I would make the same choice. But
honestly, I don't know, because in true reality I would sell my soul
to the devil for HRFL if I thought it would help make him well.

It's not helped by the fact that Cara has been potentially been
diagnosed with hip dysplasia this evening and is going to be seeing an
orthopedic surgeon and having X-rays done on 11th March to make sure.
Fortunately for me, *she's* covered by pet insurance because I'm
looking at a *huge* on-going bill.

Anyway, that's the update. ( Thank you for all your purrs, they've
really helped. Please could I have a few more, because I am feeling
really conflicted and confused about my attitudes to my animals right
now.

Thanks

Helen M

***

Purrs are on the way.

((((((((Helen and furrballs)))))))))

Joy

I never saw the original post, so I'm replying here.

Helen, if Barney has a liver tumour and you should decide not to operate,
try putting him on milk thistle. My Rose was diagnosed with an imoperable
liver tumour in Nov.2006 and is still alive and looking great at this moment
on one drop of milk thistle per day. I can't say if it would work for him,
but it's worth a try. If it's his spleen and the vet is sure it's not
metastasized you can have the spleen removed. I must say though that this
reminds me a lot of what my Emmy had, a tumour between liver and pancreas. I
was so stupid to go to a very ferret-knowledgeable vet for a second opinion,
he said he could get it out , then called me at work in the middle of the
operation telling me it turned out to be inoperable and did I want her pts
without waking her up :-( Which I did, of course..... I still wish I'd let
her spend her last days quietly with her friends and me without all the
hassle of a vet visit almost every day.
Worms are not very common in ferrets. Mine have never had worms, though the
cats did a few tines.

Nanny



"Joy" schreef in bericht
...
wrote in message
...
Well Barney has a "mass" in his abdomen. The vet believes it to be a
tumour on the spleen or liver. Because Barney was wriggling like a
right ferret, the vet couldn't work out exactly where it was. So
*incase* it is worms, everyone is being wormed with panacur over the
next 5 days, and then we'll reassess Barney, possibly with an X-ray.

He's pooping, peeing and eating as normal. He's dooking as normal
although he's a little quieter. I guess this is one of those times
when I seriously need to assess things. If he needs an operation
because of a tumour, it's going to be £450 (US $850) I don't have,
with a prognosis of "not brilliant" and a really difficult recovery.
Or I can opt for palliative care with a "see how it goes" attitude
which will lead to a much shortened life, without pain, which I'm
inclined to do. At the moment, he's not hurting, and he's got good
quality of life so I don't have to make too much of a decision (yet).

I've tried to think what I would do if it was my beloved HRFL Tiger or
one of the other cats and I would like to believe that I have taken
the decision based on that. If I thought that HRFL would have a less
than 50% chance of recovery, opposed to much shortened but good
quality of life, I *believe* I would make the same choice. But
honestly, I don't know, because in true reality I would sell my soul
to the devil for HRFL if I thought it would help make him well.

It's not helped by the fact that Cara has been potentially been
diagnosed with hip dysplasia this evening and is going to be seeing an
orthopedic surgeon and having X-rays done on 11th March to make sure.
Fortunately for me, *she's* covered by pet insurance because I'm
looking at a *huge* on-going bill.

Anyway, that's the update. ( Thank you for all your purrs, they've
really helped. Please could I have a few more, because I am feeling
really conflicted and confused about my attitudes to my animals right
now.

Thanks

Helen M

***

Purrs are on the way.

((((((((Helen and furrballs)))))))))

Joy

wrote:
Well Barney has a "mass" in his abdomen. The vet believes it to be a
tumour on the spleen or liver. Because Barney was wriggling like a
right ferret, the vet couldn't work out exactly where it was. So
*incase* it is worms, everyone is being wormed with panacur over the
next 5 days, and then we'll reassess Barney, possibly with an X-ray.

He's pooping, peeing and eating as normal. He's dooking as normal
although he's a little quieter. I guess this is one of those times
when I seriously need to assess things. If he needs an operation
because of a tumour, it's going to be £450 (US $850) I don't have,
with a prognosis of "not brilliant" and a really difficult recovery.
Or I can opt for palliative care with a "see how it goes" attitude
which will lead to a much shortened life, without pain, which I'm
inclined to do. At the moment, he's not hurting, and he's got good
quality of life so I don't have to make too much of a decision (yet).

I've tried to think what I would do if it was my beloved HRFL Tiger or
one of the other cats and I would like to believe that I have taken
the decision based on that. If I thought that HRFL would have a less
than 50% chance of recovery, opposed to much shortened but good
quality of life, I *believe* I would make the same choice. But
honestly, I don't know, because in true reality I would sell my soul
to the devil for HRFL if I thought it would help make him well.

It's not helped by the fact that Cara has been potentially been
diagnosed with hip dysplasia this evening and is going to be seeing an
orthopedic surgeon and having X-rays done on 11th March to make sure.
Fortunately for me, *she's* covered by pet insurance because I'm
looking at a *huge* on-going bill.

Anyway, that's the update. ( Thank you for all your purrs, they've
really helped. Please could I have a few more, because I am feeling
really conflicted and confused about my attitudes to my animals right
now.

Thanks

Helen M

Still purring for a good outcome.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

wrote in message
...
Well Barney has a "mass" in his abdomen. The vet believes it to be a
tumour on the spleen or liver. Because Barney was wriggling like a
right ferret, the vet couldn't work out exactly where it was. So
*incase* it is worms, everyone is being wormed with panacur over the
next 5 days, and then we'll reassess Barney, possibly with an X-ray.

He's pooping, peeing and eating as normal. He's dooking as normal
although he's a little quieter. I guess this is one of those times
when I seriously need to assess things. If he needs an operation
because of a tumour, it's going to be £450 (US $850) I don't have,
with a prognosis of "not brilliant" and a really difficult recovery.
Or I can opt for palliative care with a "see how it goes" attitude
which will lead to a much shortened life, without pain, which I'm
inclined to do. At the moment, he's not hurting, and he's got good
quality of life so I don't have to make too much of a decision (yet).

I've tried to think what I would do if it was my beloved HRFL Tiger or
one of the other cats and I would like to believe that I have taken
the decision based on that. If I thought that HRFL would have a less
than 50% chance of recovery, opposed to much shortened but good
quality of life, I *believe* I would make the same choice. But
honestly, I don't know, because in true reality I would sell my soul
to the devil for HRFL if I thought it would help make him well.

It's not helped by the fact that Cara has been potentially been
diagnosed with hip dysplasia this evening and is going to be seeing an
orthopedic surgeon and having X-rays done on 11th March to make sure.
Fortunately for me, *she's* covered by pet insurance because I'm
looking at a *huge* on-going bill.

Anyway, that's the update. ( Thank you for all your purrs, they've
really helped. Please could I have a few more, because I am feeling
really conflicted and confused about my attitudes to my animals right
now.

Thanks

Helen M
=============================================
Awww, poor Barney. I'm mentally giving Persia scritches so she can purr for
Barney, for Cara and of course for you. And everyone else who needs them.

Jill

On Feb 29, 8:20*pm, "Nanny" wrote:
I never saw the original post, so I'm replying here.

Helen, if Barney has a liver tumour and you should decide not to operate,
try putting him on milk thistle. My Rose was diagnosed with an imoperable
liver tumour in Nov.2006 and is still alive and looking great at this moment
on one drop of milk thistle per day. I can't say if it would work for him,
but it's worth a try. If it's his spleen and the vet is sure it's not
metastasized you can have the spleen removed. I must say though that this
reminds me a lot of what my Emmy had, a tumour between liver and pancreas. I
was so stupid to go to a very ferret-knowledgeable vet for a second opinion,
he said he could get it out , then called me at work in the middle of the
operation telling me it turned out to be inoperable and did I want her pts
without waking her up :-( *Which I did, of course..... I still wish I'd let
her spend her last days quietly with her friends and me without all the
hassle of a vet visit almost every day.
Worms are not very common in ferrets. Mine have never had worms, though the
cats did a few tines.

Nanny

Thanks for this information, Nancy, it helps me make a decision. The
fuzzies are being wormed as a matter of course - the likelyhood of
them having worms is, I would say, virtually non existant as they
don't go anywhere to pick them up and they don't get non-fert food.

The problem is, compared to cats and dogs I know virtually nothing
about ferts, and so whereas with a cat or dog I can make an educated
best guess/decision, with ferrets I'm fairly ignorant and have to rely
on other peoples advice.....

TBH, I think I'm just going to take a very conservative approach.

Thanks to everyone for all the purrs.

Helen M

wrote in message
...
Well Barney has a "mass" in his abdomen. The vet believes it to be a
tumour on the spleen or liver. Because Barney was wriggling like a
right ferret, the vet couldn't work out exactly where it was. So
*incase* it is worms, everyone is being wormed with panacur over the
next 5 days, and then we'll reassess Barney, possibly with an X-ray.

He's pooping, peeing and eating as normal. He's dooking as normal
although he's a little quieter. I guess this is one of those times
when I seriously need to assess things. If he needs an operation
because of a tumour, it's going to be £450 (US $850) I don't have,
with a prognosis of "not brilliant" and a really difficult recovery.
Or I can opt for palliative care with a "see how it goes" attitude
which will lead to a much shortened life, without pain, which I'm
inclined to do. At the moment, he's not hurting, and he's got good
quality of life so I don't have to make too much of a decision (yet).

I've tried to think what I would do if it was my beloved HRFL Tiger or
one of the other cats and I would like to believe that I have taken
the decision based on that. If I thought that HRFL would have a less
than 50% chance of recovery, opposed to much shortened but good
quality of life, I *believe* I would make the same choice. But
honestly, I don't know, because in true reality I would sell my soul
to the devil for HRFL if I thought it would help make him well.

It's not helped by the fact that Cara has been potentially been
diagnosed with hip dysplasia this evening and is going to be seeing an
orthopedic surgeon and having X-rays done on 11th March to make sure.
Fortunately for me, *she's* covered by pet insurance because I'm
looking at a *huge* on-going bill.

Anyway, that's the update. ( Thank you for all your purrs, they've
really helped. Please could I have a few more, because I am feeling
really conflicted and confused about my attitudes to my animals right
now.


I'm sorry, I missed your first post for purrs, I've been at the hospital
most of the day being x-rayed after a fall down the stairs last week.

I will tell you what I would do as a previous ferret owner, but ultimately
you have to make your own mind up. Firstly, Barney is a rescue so you have
no idea how old he is. I've had elderly ones and they don't look "old." So
you have to consider the possibility that when you got him he might have
been approaching the time when anno domini will send him an illness to put
an end to him.
Secondly, what would be the benefit to him for such a painful operation?
Ferrets are often not long-lived animals.
In your position I would opt for palliative care for him. After all, if it
were not for you he would be dead anyway.
You gave him a second chance in an ideal home. I think you did enough.
I understand your ethical problems in believing you are treating him
differently. You know my phone number if you want to talk about it.

Tweed

AS a friend once said to me "You gave scooter a good home and a lot of love.
If you had not done that, she may still be on the street or dead from
something awful. Words don't help I know. Just watch your little pal and
you will decide what is right.
"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
Well Barney has a "mass" in his abdomen. The vet believes it to be a
tumour on the spleen or liver. Because Barney was wriggling like a
right ferret, the vet couldn't work out exactly where it was. So
*incase* it is worms, everyone is being wormed with panacur over the
next 5 days, and then we'll reassess Barney, possibly with an X-ray.

He's pooping, peeing and eating as normal. He's dooking as normal
although he's a little quieter. I guess this is one of those times
when I seriously need to assess things. If he needs an operation
because of a tumour, it's going to be £450 (US $850) I don't have,
with a prognosis of "not brilliant" and a really difficult recovery.
Or I can opt for palliative care with a "see how it goes" attitude
which will lead to a much shortened life, without pain, which I'm
inclined to do. At the moment, he's not hurting, and he's got good
quality of life so I don't have to make too much of a decision (yet).

I've tried to think what I would do if it was my beloved HRFL Tiger or
one of the other cats and I would like to believe that I have taken
the decision based on that. If I thought that HRFL would have a less
than 50% chance of recovery, opposed to much shortened but good
quality of life, I *believe* I would make the same choice. But
honestly, I don't know, because in true reality I would sell my soul
to the devil for HRFL if I thought it would help make him well.

It's not helped by the fact that Cara has been potentially been
diagnosed with hip dysplasia this evening and is going to be seeing an
orthopedic surgeon and having X-rays done on 11th March to make sure.
Fortunately for me, *she's* covered by pet insurance because I'm
looking at a *huge* on-going bill.

Anyway, that's the update. ( Thank you for all your purrs, they've
really helped. Please could I have a few more, because I am feeling
really conflicted and confused about my attitudes to my animals right
now.


I'm sorry, I missed your first post for purrs, I've been at the hospital
most of the day being x-rayed after a fall down the stairs last week.

I will tell you what I would do as a previous ferret owner, but ultimately
you have to make your own mind up. Firstly, Barney is a rescue so you
have no idea how old he is. I've had elderly ones and they don't look
"old." So you have to consider the possibility that when you got him he
might have been approaching the time when anno domini will send him an
illness to put an end to him.
Secondly, what would be the benefit to him for such a painful operation?
Ferrets are often not long-lived animals.
In your position I would opt for palliative care for him. After all, if
it were not for you he would be dead anyway.
You gave him a second chance in an ideal home. I think you did enough.
I understand your ethical problems in believing you are treating him
differently. You know my phone number if you want to talk about it.

Tweed

If you want to know more about ferrets' health problems you could also
subscribe to the Ferret Health list:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth

Nanny


schreef in bericht
...
On Feb 29, 8:20 pm, "Nanny" wrote:
I never saw the original post, so I'm replying here.

Helen, if Barney has a liver tumour and you should decide not to operate,
try putting him on milk thistle. My Rose was diagnosed with an imoperable
liver tumour in Nov.2006 and is still alive and looking great at this
moment
on one drop of milk thistle per day. I can't say if it would work for him,
but it's worth a try. If it's his spleen and the vet is sure it's not
metastasized you can have the spleen removed. I must say though that this
reminds me a lot of what my Emmy had, a tumour between liver and pancreas.
I
was so stupid to go to a very ferret-knowledgeable vet for a second
opinion,
he said he could get it out , then called me at work in the middle of the
operation telling me it turned out to be inoperable and did I want her pts
without waking her up :-( Which I did, of course..... I still wish I'd let
her spend her last days quietly with her friends and me without all the
hassle of a vet visit almost every day.
Worms are not very common in ferrets. Mine have never had worms, though
the
cats did a few tines.

Nanny

Thanks for this information, Nancy, it helps me make a decision. The
fuzzies are being wormed as a matter of course - the likelyhood of
them having worms is, I would say, virtually non existant as they
don't go anywhere to pick them up and they don't get non-fert food.

The problem is, compared to cats and dogs I know virtually nothing
about ferts, and so whereas with a cat or dog I can make an educated
best guess/decision, with ferrets I'm fairly ignorant and have to rely
on other peoples advice.....

TBH, I think I'm just going to take a very conservative approach.

Thanks to everyone for all the purrs.

Helen M