Lesson learned re: fur chewing

[dyanaf]

So, we woke to a big scare on Saturday. Our Mooshka was laying at the bottom of her cage and wouldnt move. She absolutely hates being picked up and usually wont even let you get near her with an open palm. But this time, she didnt protest at all and barely even blinked. So, we immediately ran her to the vet and even in a carrying cage she didnt move at all.

At the vet, they were great. If you've ever seen "Emergency Vets" on Animal Planet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alameda_East_Veterinary_Hospital), that's where we took her. While our Doctor was great, she also called in help from Dr Fitzgerald who was prominent in that show. I didnt realize any of this at the time, or I would have gotten an autograph or something. :tantrum:

Anyways, that's not to brag, but to give a little background on their credentials.

Apparently our baby had a blockage and was in some pretty bad pain. They did x-rays to confirm and gave her some dextrose to get her hydrated. Then, they kept her for a few hours and gave her Metoclopramide to get her gut working again. We took her home that night and been force feeding her the medicine 2x a day since. She seems to have recovered, aside from hating us right now.

The interesting part is that the Dr Fitzgerald thinks the blockage could have come from ingesting hair that she chews. I've never heard that fur chewing could cause a problem, but apparently it can and does. So, it looks like she's going to be put on a diet involving Critical Care 2x a week, just to be safe. But, thought Id mention the fur chewing -> blockage connection and see if anyone had thoughts...

And also... She hates the critical care. Sniffs it and runs the other direction. I really dont want to force it with a syringe, given how much she hates receiving the other medicine. Any ideas on how to make it better for her?

thanks!

 

[rcr]

Is she pooping? You aren't out of the woods if her dropping haven't returned to normal size and consistency.

 

[rcr]

Also you can try putting a drop of blackstrap molasses in with the critical care to see if its more palatable. Are you feeding the original or strawberry banana flavor?

 

[dyanaf]

Yep, she's pooping as much as she always did. Didnt quite start right away though. After the dextrose and 1 dose of the medicine, she started being a bit more active, but no poops. Gave her another dose and let her run around the room a bit and that did the trick. Been 2 days now and she's clearly feeling better, with normal sized and amounts of poop.

I think I have the normal Critical aare, at least it doesnt say banana-strawberry on it. Smells a lot like licorice. I'll buy the flavored kind and try that though, didnt realize there were 2 types. I think my wife has the blackstrap molasses somewhere, that's the same stuff people use for anemia, right?

 

[menagerie]

I'm glad to hear she's feeling better.

Note: Critical Care comes in two flavors. Original (licorice or anise flavored) and apple banana. There is no strawberry.

 

[Stackie]

Having just studied hair balls in rabbits, I can only go off of what I have learned from them. However, rabbits and chins have very similar digestive systems, so I suppose this can apply to chins fairly accurately. The idea of hair balls in chins has always been questionable. In rabbits, it is normal to find fur in the digestive tract. However, the hair is generally not the problem. The hair ball obstruction is usually caused by the lack of intestinal mobility. This can stem from inappropriate diet, dehydration, stress, or painful conditions (dental disease, presence of foreign objects in the GI). Hair is normally found in the stomach of rabbits, but as intestinal motility slows, the hair mass begins to dehydrate and becomes firm, resulting in the impaction.

However, in the case of a fur chewer, the increased ingestion of fur could certainly be possible. If the chin is on a high fiber, low carb diet (quality chin pellets & lots of grass hay), isn't overly stressed for whatever reason, and otherwise seems to be ok, the fur chewing may very well be the main problem. The best thing is to keep up with the fiber, which it sounds like you are doing.