Kind of came to this subject in a round-about way, though I guess it's
natural for someone who has had four human friends and two human family
members have surgeries recently to have the topic in the back of her mind.
 
First of all, one of the things often heard from humans who have had
surgery for the first time is that they had NO idea who long the recovery
can be or how gentle they need to be with themselves afterward.  Guess
what?  Ferrets need pampering and special care, too!  Steve and I have
NEVER lost a ferret post-surgically -- NEVER.  There have been some we
most definitely WOULD have lost without proper care, though.
 
I'm just going to introduce this topic.  Am sure to miss some things, and
I expect other people can best let us all know what aspects they want to
learn more about, and what information they want to add.
 
Litter: Do NOT put a post-operative ferret right back into the old living
situation (for multiple reasons).  One of the things it can't deal with
safely is the litter box.  There are the high sides which irritate and
infect, the filth, the goo, etc.  A ferret who is going around with an
incision has a hole in it to very sensitive areas and could easily get an
infection.  Everything in there has been manipulated and is sore as all
get-out so it should not be bumped in climbing.  Use newspaper, with NO
box to start, or inside a special litter box.  We usually don't even use a
box for them for the first few days to a week depending on surgery, age,
recovery timing, etc.  We have two types of sick-ferret litter boxes here:
one has a very shallow and very smooth entry -- nothing to irritate or
catch stitches.  It's made by Marshall Farms.  I know some people here hate
MF, but this litter box is PERFECT for post-surgical ferrets or ones with
other health problems; it's a TREASURE.  The other one we've found isn't
quite as good but it's worlds better than the standard litter box.  It has
a ramp in and out so there is nothing to irritate wounds or stitches.
Until the stitches can come out or the vet gives a clean bill of health we
do NOT use regular litter -- only newspaper or shredded newspaper.  The
infection risk is MUCH reduced by doing that.  Regular litter is simply
too dirty.
 
Exercise: NO CLIMBING -- NO RAMPS.  We have a "sick cage" which is all one
level, but usually we use the master bathroom -- flat, flat, flat.  Ferrets
often recover very nicely, sometimes to the point where they stress
themselves and their wounds by over-doing things.  Keep that in mind.  You
don't want them bored and you do want them to get enough exercise but you
don't want them to over-do it -- same as with humans and it's a hard as
heck balance to find so expect to vacillate around it, keeping as close as
you can to the point.
 
Eating and drinking: Here's what probably kills most ferrets
post-operatively, I suspect.  The first few days after surgery they really
NEED a lot of time and attention to getting them to eat and drink enough
for fighting infection, healing, maintaining good kidney function, etc.
Think about hospitals and how the nurse keep monitoring urine output, food
intake, etc.  You MUST spend a LOT of time gently introducing liquids and
foods.  If absolutely necessary then you must CAREFULLY (since done wrong
it can cause a lung infection) force-feed, but MOST of the time just
wrapping the ferret in a comfy towel on your lap, singing, using favorite
foods which are high in nutrients like A/D, and water flavored with things
like Nutrical will work.  Do NOT give up; if you give up then the ferret
will give up.  They do NOT eat or drink easily very often for the first
days after surgery and you MUST deal with that effectively or they WILL
die.
 
Interactions: These happen ONLY for short periods and with DIRECT
supervision.  We have had very few ferrets mess with their own incisions,
but they sure often WANT to disturb stitches in other ferrets!!!!!!  This
can be a route to premature death through infection or opening the wound.
Also, if any of them have any illnesses the compromised individual is more
susceptible.
 
Medications and Information to have on hand: For example, we wouldn't any
longer have an adrenal operation done on one with a known atrophied other
adrenal or have a double adrenalectomy done without having some Fluorinef
handy just in case there winds up not being enough adrenal products for
survival (meds not necessarily here -- could be at vets' since they are
accessible at all hours).  It's not a likely thing to need but when it is
needed then having it handy can mean the difference between life or death.
Antibiotics make sense in some situations -- ask vet.  Be sure to ask the
vet beforehand what sorts of complications might result, how to spot them,
and what you can do about them, also what sorts to danger signs to be aware
of.  YOU MAY HAVE TO JUMP FAST!!!!  Our vet who has recently moved (a great
loss for us) used to modestly say that he'd do the original work to help
them survive but then 95% of getting them through it would be what we'd do.
Nursing ferrets is hard work and you need to learn things to do it well,
and keep learning all the time.
 
Extra supervision: sometimes one will just be so sick that we use a large
carrier right next to the bed at head height and Steve and I also check in
shifts every few hours.  When it's to this point I become a night-bird and
he's the lark.  That's not usually for post-op ones, though, but usually
for advanced cardiomyopathy or last stage lympho.  Still, we often do the
shift thing for the first few days or week after surgery when they are so
sensitive to dangers; when we can't we do 2 to 3 hour checks.
 
Keep the ferret warm enough: We love the sleeping sacks which F.A.I.R.
sells for this.  Others have found things they love.  There was a WONDERFUL
quilted sack I got at the FML reunion which was our all-time favorite;
haven't found one as good since or learned who made that, though the
F.A.I.R. sacks are as close as we've gotten for keeping them comfy in such
hard times.  They really like the fake fur inside and the sacks wash really
well -- except sometimes for the opening rod.
 
Observe, observe, observe: Treatment has to be based on the INDIVIDUAL and
the only way to do that is to observe.
 
Alicia wrote a GREAT article on this topic for the Halloween Modern Ferret
issue; get a copy.
 
I hope that others whose ferrets do well post-operatively write in with
their pointers, and I hope that those who have not been through this or
have had bad experiences also share the worries or difficulties so that
all can learn and perhaps their questions can be answered.
 
Oh, and if you want this to end with a laugh here's a true story even if it
is only a human one: when I had my hysterectomy it took about a year for me
to get back fully to normal (worth it, though), and the recovery to just
workable level took over 6 weeks.  In the beginning I couldn't do anything
except tiny walks in the house and an hour spent just dressing myself, but
gradually I got to the point where I could go down the stairs, walk to the
mailbox for our courtyard, and then walk back, rest, and then tackle the
stairs.  It was exhausting.  One day I was part way back from the mailbox
when a stranger pulled up, parked in a neighbor's space, pointedly stared
at me, and then went on her way.  The neighbor she was visiting had her
windows open, and as I rested before tackling the staircase these words
floated down to me: "Boy, your neighbor sure is drunk!".  It's hard to know
how much tenderness recovery needs if you haven't been there (or how much
you may stagger or need help -- just like the fuzzies)...
[Posted in FML issue 2940]