Reply to Tatia Johnson
 
We had a ferret with bladder problems after surgery as well a few years
ago.  He had had problems before surgery, too, and had to be treated with
antibiotics before the operation.  His sounds somewhat different from your
ferrets in that we were told he had a bladder cyst that was causing his
obstruction and infection.  The vet had actually seen it when he went in
to do the cryosurgery on the adrenal gland.  The problem cleared up while
he was on the antibiotic, but came back within a couple of weeks after he
had finished it.  He was given another round and again got better.  When
he developed problems yet again, our local vet recommend putting him down,
which I let him do.  Poor little Squirt was so worn out, and it didn't
look as if he was going to improve.
 
Now, let me tell you what I found out afterwards that I wish I'd known
then.  We live in Alabama and had taken Squirt to Atlanta, Georgia to have
his cryosurgery done by a vet that learned from Dr. Charlie Weiss, the vet
who instructs on the procedure.  When we returned home a couple of days
later, we followed up with our local vet who has limited knowledge of
ferrets, but does treat them some.  He consulted by phone with Dr. Weiss
about hormone injections to offset the lethargy since this was Squirt's
second adrenal surgery and was giving him those weekly.  However, he
didn't know to ask Dr. Weiss about the persistent bladder problems.  After
having Squirt put down, I called Dr. Weiss myself about what had happened.
He said that Squirt should have been on long-term antibiotic therapy,
possibly up to several months, if I remember correctly.  Seems that this
is not an uncommon problem in ferrets after adrenal surgery, but my vet
wasn't aware of that.  I would highly suggest that you contact either
Dr. Charlie Weiss, or have your vet do so, or contact Dr. Bruce Williams
via the ferret health list.  You can get in touch with Dr. Weiss at
ferretdoctor.com.  There is a small consultation fee, but to me it was
worth it.  Contact Dr. Williams at [log in to unmask]
This is the address to post a question.  Just note that it is for Dr.
Williams.  It's been a while since I've posted, but I assume that he's
stilling addressing questions.  I hope all goes well for little Spanky!
Keep us posted.
 
Rhea Fulmer
 
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[Posted in FML issue 3704]