When I had major surgery long ago Hjalmar didn't want to leave my side for
six weeks, and the others obeyed me completely even though they would still
create normal havoc for Steve.  It was the first time we'd seen that sort
of thing, but have seen milder versions since with less intrusive
human-health situations.
 
Also, Meltdown was the best ferret "nurse" we have ever had.  When Hjalmar
was in advanced lympho (in his R adrenal originally and then spread from
there) she would help us care for him.  On the nights when he was well
enough to not be in a cage right next to the bed (and we could get some
sleep to be more effective when needed) we would place Meltie in a cage
next to his sick cage and she would force herself to stay alert and rattle
the bars like crazy if he got worse.  She caught each emergency he had
those nights, and then she would just completely zonk out the next day.
I'd say there was a good bond there!
 
We've also seen ferrets in mourning behavior -- very suppressed when a
cagemate died.  Have at times had ones who lost weight and needed special
care at these times.
 
Okay, this is off-topic but brief and true.  Someone mentioned
old-fashioned bedpans -- the coated metal ones with curved sides.  More
than two decades ago, after Dad remarried two years after Mom's death, the
house needed to be emptied, so I lived there rent free for a summer in
exchange for clearing out 25 years of stuff and making some basic repairs.
Dad then joined some friends in an absolutely huge yard sale.  One of the
items we had was the bedpan my grandfather had used in the late 1930s -
early 1940s when he had cancer, one of the old ones of the sort mentioned.
At the yard sale Dad was surprised when a young couple came up and
excitedly bought it, declaring it a bargain.  As they were leaving a friend
of Dad's overheard the wife exclaiming that she just could not believe the
price they'd found for their new soup tureen!
[Posted in FML issue 2733]