BAILEY'S STORY
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08 July 2006 Bailey had a really good winter, and a really good year. He was enjoying himself running around up and down the stairs, hiding in our bedroom and playing with Bingo. We were really pleased to see him just like a normal ferret. He had a really good winter and spring. He seemed to appreciate all the care and attention lavished on him and paid it back with cuddles, nips and begging for treats. He liked to be picked up and have his chest rubbed. Only to say that Bailey is now in ferret heaven after being diagnosed with lymphoma. It breaks my heart to have lost him - I had a special connection with him and he loved being cuddled by 'mum'. See the Memorials section for more. 04 October 2005Bailey's still doing really well, although we do keep a close eye on him. He's now Bingo's partner in mischief and mayhem and the two love to tussle really rough and when given the chance will chase each other all over the house, dooking with please. He does seem a little stiff still in his back legs which doesn't make overly agile and he's prone to spraining his legs by jumping. 3 July 2005Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after the last entry Bailey started to go downhill again. It was wierd to see - everyday he could do less and less, have less energy and have less strength in his back legs and body. We took him back to the vets and we tried a second longer course of Septrin. Unfortunatly, keeping him on meds conincided with our holiday, so we managed to persaude Tony's mum to look after Bailey. Once again after only a few days Bailey's condition perked up. We left him round at Tony's mum thinking that he'd be no problem as he's never been that lively. However, on coming home, we found out that Bailey had improved so much that he had an hour and half in the morning and the evening out to run around her house and had started to climb up not only the stairs, but the TV stand, speaker stand, laundry basket etc!!! We've had him home for a couple of weeks now, once again living outside and missing all his indoor privilidges and it great to see him with the other ferrets. When they come back in, Bailey bounces, plays and rough-houses with all the rest. We've never ever seen him like this since we've had him. He's such a happy, playful ferret now and long may he stay this way. Just shows that perseverence does pay off! 21 May 2005Since the last entry, the blood work didn't really show anything up. The vet tried him on anti-biotics and there was a small improvement. He then suggested that it could be a CNS problem due to bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections. He suggested that it might be a long shot, but it would be interesting to perhaps investigate parasitic causes, in particular Neospora and Toxoplasma. I wasn't keen to try more costly tests as I was feeling a bit dispondent about Bailey and my mounting VISA card debt. He put Bailey on a treatment to kill parasitic protozoa and even after only 4 days it was like Bailey was a ferret reborn. He was just like a normal ferret running, playing, jumping and alert. In fact his improvement over 2 weeks was so great that we were very happy to put him outside with his friends and cross our fingers that he was cured. Unfortunately, over the last week, the symptoms have started to come back quite quickly so we booked him back into see the vet and have been given the same treatment but for a longer period of time. Even after 2 days there is an improvement. 20 March 2005Bailey has improved somewhat, but he's still not very lively, is wobbly and seems to lack strength in his hind legs. We took him back to our vets to do a full blood work investigation. Hopefully we can find out what's wrong and make him feel right again. 13 March 2005Well, Bailey has been up and down. He seemed to be doing really, so well in fact that we thought it was time for him to live outside again. We only put him outside during the day as it was very cold at night and was snowing. After a few days he seemed a little off colour and by last weekend was really depressed and tottering over. We've kept an eye on him all week and he is making an improvement. But he's stil not quite right...but then again with Bailey he's never really acted like a normal bouncy ferret. 4 February 2005Bailey was completely miserable with his cystitus, and we were begining to worry if he would ever be well again. He finished his course of antibiotics and was still straining a little to go to the loo and still was depressed. I'm a big fan of treating holistically, and I thought I would try him on concentrated cranberry which is good to relieve the discomfort of cystitus. Since feeding him half a capsule a day, he has really perked up. He now plays with the other ferrets and really likes playing hide and seek with Bingo. Bingo has been a god-send to all of us as everyone enjoys his company. Bailey bounces, runs and plays, something he hasn't done in quite a long time, perhaps even a year. Which might just show that he's not been feeling well for a long time. But as ferrets can't speak and as he wasn't showing any other symptoms, no-one knew what to treat at the time. Bailey's fur is going back and he's looks and is a fantastic ferret. He's definately back to his old self. This morning he went back to his normal routine of 'lick, lick, lick, chomp'!! on my hand. His treatment actually cost us the best part of £800. The only other problem is that with his winter weight on he's too fat to fit through the tube from their outdoor cage into the bed area. We have noticed in the past that he catches/rubs his willy against it. Tony is going to put either a bigger tube in or a cat flap so that he doesn't catch his bits on it and cause further irritation to his willy/bladder. Cysititus is a condition that can readily re-occur so we have to keep our eye on him and make sure he drinks a lot. 23 January 2005Life's all about ups and downs. Just when Bailey looked like he was getting better, then he went downhill again. We had an appointment for Willow booked for last Weds. and a few days before that we noticed that Bailey was under the weather again and was having problems going to the toilet. When we took him to the vets we found that he needed his bladder expressed becuase of a possible blockage and treated for bruising and cystitus. He's getting better, but we have to keep an eye on his recovery. Willow is causing us problems too. Symptomatically, she is presenting signs of adrenal which our vet has no experience of. I have given him info about a drug used to treat the condition in the States and we've also contacted the vet that the Essex Ferret welfare uses. So we're waiting to hear how we can treat her. 3 January 2005We're so pleased - Bailey is recovering well. His wound has healed fine and is only a slight raised white line now. His fur will take some time to grow back so he's still quite bald on his belly. Over the last few days he's definately been feeling so much better and is back to his normal self. He's actually bounced a few times and is quite happy to potter about and loves climbing the stairs...if we allow it! On the downside, Willow is continuing to loose her fur. 23 December 2004My God - how time changes things! Winter came and Tilbury was having trouble absorbing his food properly and was under-weight and out-of-condition. We gave Willow a distemper booster jab and her fur has fallen out. Then we noticed Bailey being really lazy and tired to the point he would potter around for 5 minutes or less, then stop in his tracks and his head would slowing drop to the floor. Tony then said he felt a lump in his belly. So off to the vets we went and after some tests which set us back £280 - we're told he had an enlarged spleen. Reading up about this condition which seems quite common you should leave it in if it doesn't cause any problems. However, if it causes discomfort, lethargy or if it's cancerous it should be operated out. I asked our vet to do this as Bailey really wasn't right. So another £300 later, Bailey is recovering well. We're off to the vets tomorrow for a check up. Fingers crossed for a full recovery and for Bailey to feel like himself again.
We saw the vet today and he felt Bailey was healing well. We told him that Bailey seems a lot brighter, but not bouncy. But then again...Bailey's never really been bouncy. He told us the next 6 months would tell if Bailey would be ok - there is still a risk of lymphoma. So people send light and healing to Bailey just to make sure he's alright. On the downside, as Willow is still balding - the chances of her having adrenal were getting higher. 7 July 2004A momentous moment...Bailey has found his 'inner dook'. Bailey finally bounced and played in April this year. Since then he's learned to play a lot better with the other ferrets and chases and pounces with them. He also danced and dooked for the first time since we had him. So he's learnt to be a happy ferret. We're so pleased. Rehab for a neglected ferret can take time. It's taken him over 1.5 years to learn how to play. 24 Jan 2004Bailey is fine and recovered well. He's settled in well and loves to be cuddled. He's not as playful as the other ferrets, but he loves being nosey and still has the occasional nip, especially if hungry - he'll let you know. Following his progress, it has been really nice to see him turn from a scared bitey animal not used to close handling to one that loves a cuddle and that looks real relaxed and happy. 11 July 2003Last Thursday we noticed Bailey was really ill. He was depressed, weak, disorientated, dehydrated and tremoring with a permanently fluffed tail. My husband took him to the vets the next day and Bailey had a temperature of 105F. The vet thought it was Bacterial Menengitis or another non-specific bacterial infection. He gave him some shots and sent him home. I made up some chicken broth as Bailey wasn't eating so much of his normal food and also to keep him hydrated. That evening he looked so bad, I thought we could loose him. Here's to the recouperative powers of animals. The next day he was clamoring to be let out of the small pen. He was still obviously peaky and under-the-weather, but so much more improved. The vet was pleased with his recovery as well and sent us home with a weeks worth of anti-biotics. Bailey is almost back to his normal self, but we're keeping an eye on his eating habits as he's been off his normal food. 9 March 2003Bailey has improved a little. I believe most the time he bites because he playing with us now, rather out of viciousness. The bites are not so painful, but there is still substantial pressure. For the most part he doesn't break the skin, but he can leave a scratch. Scruffing doesn't really work as he hates it, but a gentle tap on the nose seems to get the message across. He's playing better with the other ferrets which is nice to see. Before he didn't seem to know how ferrets play and spent a lot time flopped out looking blank or puzzled. He's quite person orientated now and will seek you out to sit in your lap and be stroked. This is a bit of a two edged sword as you'll probably be bitten as well. But it's nice when he totally relaxes in your lap. None of our other ferrets seek us out for such quality time, unless we've got a bottle of ferretone in hand! It's also really nice to see Tilbury play. He's also a ferret who didn't know how to play games and it took him about 3 months before playful interaction occured. A year or so on, he's turned into a furry bouncing bullet when he's first let out to play. It's great to see him so happy. 23 December 2002Bailey has his good days and his grumpy ones. Most of the time he's quite good with us, but sometimes he's in a mood and will latch his teeth onto me for no apparent reason other than that's just what he feels like doing. His mood also extends into lashing out with his teeth to his ferrety friends, but they have the advantage of faster reflexes and stronger skin than me. 13 November 2002I can't believe once again that Bailey is the same fert. Over the last 2/3 weeks he managed to double his weight. He now looks like a fat lardy lad. See the difference for yourself. He's now so wobbly he can only wobble up to you, lie on back and beg to have his tummy tickled. See the evidence for yourself.  Click on the picture for an even larger ferret!
15 October 2002 Since we've been back from holiday, we've noticed that Bailey actively seeks us out now. When he out playing indoors he will come over and sit in our laps several times over say an hour. When he's on our laps he get more attention and stokes. However, I think he might just be doing that in order to nibble our necks!! We've also noticed that he's playing chase more with our other ferrets. 8 October 2002Reading the last two entries it's hard to believe I've got the same ferret. Some of the things I said might seem a little harsh, but the ferocity of the biting was genuinely frightening. I'm still using the ferretone on the hands method and holding him for short and frequent periods of time which is working really well. We had a friend look after the ferrets for two weeks whilst we went on holiday, and she didn't have a problem with him which is fantastic. When we came back they all came out to see us and Bailey wanted to be picked up several times and he was quite excited, which was really nice. We had them out to play the day after we returned and he did initially try his teeth out on us. I now have a mark on my chin!! However, it was more testing biting, and he let go of his own accord . So good progress being made. He still hasn't quite integrated properly with the other ferrets and hasn't yet learnt how to play with them. Often when they're out he'll just sit there looking perplexed. 26 August 2002Well, I was right about needing lots of patience, anti-septic cream and plasters. I took some advice from the Internet about how to stop a ferret biting. The first bit of advice is to ascertain WHY the ferret is biting. As ferrets don't speak English, I can only presume. I feel that he's not biting out of being vicious, but because he's not been taught how to interact properly with human and perhaps he's been abused for biting before. I tried the tapping the ferret on the nose routine, as well as the stoking and relaxing your ferret and when it bites tap the side of it's face and hold him for 10-15 minutes a day. The advice said that after 2-3 days you'll have a nice tame ferrets. BOLLOCKS!!! All it did was to provoke poor Bailey into an absolute frenzy - I don't think it's a method of mutual trust, but probably instills even more fear of humans into a ferret who perhaps already associates a hand with physical pain. Scruffing him when he bites works to a certain extent, but he sometimes thinks it's fun and comes back for a second or third bite. My newest technique is to put Ferretone or ferretvite on my hands so that he associates hands with yummy things and licking. Also not to make any moves towards Bailey when playing - to let him come to me, then I will interact with him. This method has had some success, last night I got 3 light nips as apposed to several nasty, I'm not letting go and my jaws are closing in harder bites. I will let you know if this technique carrys on working. 16 August 2002 I found Bailey by surfing one of the UK ferret discussion lists. He was offered as a rescue from a centre in Cambridge. I got him because I had a craving for a sandy coloured friend - I think they are very beautiful. I also thought four ferrets was a nice round number and would make better financial sense. This is because when taking them to the vets for their bi-annual distemper shots, with 3 ferrets half a vial of vaccine would be thrown away and you're charged for it. But with 4 ferrets at least it can be used and not wasted! Bailey doesn't as yet seem to know how to interact correctly with other ferrets or humans. He will need time, care and patience. We will need LOTS of patience, anti-septic cream and plasters!! I was hoping to get a properly adjusted ferret, but when you don't know a ferrets background, it's a chance you take. I thought rescue centres didn't home badly adjusted ferrets. Hopefully, we will be able to make a positive difference to his behaviour and quality of life before he shreds our hands!!! Tilbury also didn't know how to play with ferrets, although he was fine with people, it was lovely to see him dance and dook after 3 months with us. We've only had him 4 days so far. In that time it was very stressful for all of us. Casper didn't want to be friends and was pretty rough with him. However, they are making friends now and peace is starting to reign. I will keep the website updated of any progress (presuming I have enough fingers left to type!). |
