Hello FML,
 
Risa,
 
My Tango and Roo (RooBear) both went through adrenal surgeries for the
first time a couple of years ago and I was terrified what might happen,
even though my surgeon was very competent.
 
Roo came through with flying colors and was eating her baby food right
away and recuperated well.  Tango on the other hand, hates baby food, so I
had to force feed *duck soup* to get him his protein, because his surgery
was harder on him and he wasn't doing as well.  What I did, was this:
 
1) I made up a special cage (a small bunny cage i had) for just Tango to
sleep in with his favorite blankies and toy, to keep him separated from
the others.  I put that cage next to my bed so I could monitor him
throughout the night for a week.  I would check for any unusual stools,
and get up and feed him his duck soup every few hours (as he wasn't eating
on his own).
 
2) Do not let your fuzzy chew or lick excessively on their stitches after
surgery.  They may be itchy for them, you can take a washcloth with warm
water and just dab the stitches every once in a while to keep them clean.
 
3) Make sure they have easy access to litter pans, food, water, etc.  as
they will not feel like climbing to different levels of their cage and
will tire easy and you don't want the risk of them pulling out their
stitches.
 
4) Do not let your fuzzy interact/play with the others until after they
fully recuperate.  I know it's hard to keep them separated, but your fuzzy
won't feel like bouncing off the walls anyway.  I would allow RooBear to
snuggle with Tango though because they absolutely love each other and hate
to be separated and she was very comforting and gentle to Tango, which
helped him a lot.
 
5) My vet gave me something (sorry, not sure what it was), for the pain
for after surgery.  (well actually my vet gave Tango the pain reliever not
me, although I was a nervous wreck and could have used it!) You can check
with your vet and see what they suggest.  I do believe it helped them
some.
 
6) As far as food - you will have to see what works for your fuzzy.  Baby
food is the preferred food of choice - but like I said, my Tango would
have nothing to do with it.  So I mixed up duck soup and gave it to him,
which he did eat, but only with a little coercion from me.
 
I'm sure others on this list, especially shelter people, will have much
more wonderful advice.
 
Good luck and i'll be praying for a speedy recovery!
Tracy J.
Tango, Roo(RooBear), Chico, Spunky & Leah and my fur-angel Pepe'
[Posted in FML issue 3755]