I have two ferrets. Had them for about 9 months now. The female one, kabob, got sick, and it went on for months, vets have no idea what happened or why it naturally went away. Now the boy, shisher or shish, is losing weight and has lost some ability to use his rear limbs. I was in the hospital on/of so they’ve both been at a family members house. Apparantly it started right after i left for the hospital and at first he could not walk or move at all. Anyway…he is getting better naturally, however that could be misleading.
Point is, I love them both so much, but the stress they cause me is insane. And for $150 all the vet said is more tests would run into the 4 digits and the treatment could be hundreds per year or an expensive surgery. Money I don’t have at all.
What should I do? There’s a place called the Ferret Rescue, they might take them and get them treatment I think. Is it ethical to just wait and see how shisher does over time?
Question for discussion: Do you have pets? Should schizophrenics have pets, as in, is it a positive thing or a negative one (in your opinion, regardless of what I should do).
I don’t have pets, mostly being on my own, I would find it to much to look after them and of course there is the cost, things have slowed down for me work wise so I could not afford it now.
Yes people should own pets, the can be very comforting and can often calm people down
Something to consider but maybe hold out a bit. If you can take care of their needs without too much financial impact you are doing good. But you do have options so that’s great as well.
I love pets but right now having one would not be a good idea.
@anon99233869 I think you should wait and see how shish does before sending him away. Pets are considered family members, so you should take care of them no matter the situation. I understand how you feel, but losing a pet is much harder than the time spent mourning them.
Yes I have had a goldfish, rats, and dogs before (though the dogs were family dogs so not officially mine I wasn’t the sole caretaker). I think it depends on the individual whether a sz should have pets. If they ar every unstable for example and do not have anyone who could look after their pets while they were hospitalized, I don’t think a pet would be a good choice. If they are stable, and want something to help keep them stable then I think pets can be hugely therapeutic. My rats have helped me a ton and I did actually keep them as emotional support animals in school.
After terrible nightmares or if I felt flashbacks starting I could let them out and they’d give me kisses and ground me back in reality. I’d be so depressed I couldn’t get out of bed all day, and what finally got me out of bed was needing to care for them. They could change my mood and just calm me. They’ve even literally prevented me from attempting suicide before because I knew no one would take care of them if I was gone. Personally I need animals in my life. I’ll always need them.
I wish the public could be more informed about pets. People assume small animal pets are easier, cheaper, less responsibility than larger ones like a cat or dog but that is not true at all. All small pets count as exotics which can be hugely expensive vet wise as you’re discovering. It cost me over 700 dollars for a tumor removal and hormone implant for my rat. Just a checkup at my old vet place used to cost 90 per rat. Luckily I later got pet insurance that helped cover a chunk of these costs and I’ve always had a whole savings account set aside for pet purposes.
If you do give them up know that people are way less likely to adopt small pets, and even less likely than that to adopt small pets with health needs. That said I suppose you’d still be giving them a better shot than if you just put them down. I’d also recommend seeing another vet. Prices can vary WILDLY based on what vet you go to. My old one charged 90 bucks just for a checkup for one rat like I said and wanted to charge 300 bucks for an X-ray. Another vet I saw did checkup & X-rays for half that price and was more experienced too.
As for if you should wait to see if it gets better, that’s not always a bad choice. With my old dog, we brought her to the vet once because she had developed a limp. The vet said she had a torn ACL and wanted us to spend hundreds on X-rays and then more than that on surgery. My parents decided to wait and see-she didn’t have a torn acl at all she had just pulled a muscle
Anyways that’s all my thoughts. Sorry it’s so much
My in-laws are proof even some normal people shouldn’t own pets. The only pets they take care is a dog named jax and their aquariums. I take care of the rest. It took alot of convincing just to agree for them to get their bearded dragon looked at by a vet.
And even when I offer them advice on their bearded dragon or rabbit they say “how can you really believe that?”
But my mother in law believed camels milk could cure diabetes. Seriously
