The wonders of canned pure pumpkin

by Ann
(Warrenton, NC, USA)

I have three ferrets. My oldest has had stomach problems from day one. She would alternate between diarrhea and regular stools every few days. All my vets said that there was no underlying reason for it, and it could just be her 'normal' setting.

After she got treated for ulcers, we always had a supply of famotidine on hand. At first, this worked wonderfully, but she gradually seemed to get lethargic when I dosed her.

It wasn't until my male had problems, though, that I even knew about alternatives. One day, I noticed he wouldn't eat, had only liquid stool (when he could go), and was listless.

I called a vet, and explained the situation (in hopes of working out a payment plan, as I suspected a blockage). They advised canned pure pumpkin every four hours for 1-2 days.

We rushed out, I syringe fed it to him, and between doses I did research. Not only is pumpkin used for moving ingested matter out, it is also used as a stomach soother and stool regulator (for both diarrhea and constipation).

Yogi was a success. The pumpkin removed the hair and got him back to his old self. Now, have all three on it. And whenever Pixie looks like her stomach is bothering her, she gets a dose and it alleviates the upset without all the side-effects and dependency that can form with famotidine

Doses for laxative: 1-2 TBS every four hours until signs of matter appear in stool. Stop when ferret no longer evacuates foreign matter.

Tummy soother: 1 TBS 1-2 times daily, until symptoms disappear. (can mix in a duk soup or other treat if you want).