Hi, everyone, Ryo had minor surgery around 5:30 PM this evening with Dr. Hudson to lance and drain a large abscess at her rear. It appears that when she was descented, part of her anal gland was missed, and this caused the abscess. She is spending the night at Northwoods where she will be checked again in the morning. Keith will pick her up around 1 PM tomorrow if all is well. Aftercare will include keeping her separate from the rest of the business (which she will just hate), warm compresses on the affected area, and gentle working of the incision with a cotton swab to keep it open and draining so that it heals from the bottom up, provided she permits it. Our little girl will be on antibiotics (Clavamox) and yogurt to prevent the Clavamox from killing off the good bacteria in her stomach. Ryo should be just fine, but the abscess will *eventually* return, and keep returning on a cycle. If it is infrequent, Dr. Hudson will treat the same way each time, if it is too frequent, he will have to try and find and remove the remainder of her anal gland, which would be difficult. This is just one more thing that can go wrong with the health of our fuzzies :( Fortunately, this is not terribly serious or life threatening, but it is just another reminder that these precious creatures are, unfortunately, subject to all kinds of ailments, and keeping money on hand for vet bills is an absolute must. Now a question: Ryo-Ohki is one year old, and is a Marshall Farms ferret purchased less than a year ago, so she is still "under warranty". (How on Earth do you "warranty" a living creature?) Her warranty specifically covers her descenting. If I write to Marshall Farms, which I will, what can I expect? What should I be asking for? All the best, Caity ____________________________________________________________ Caitlyn M. Martin "They have computers... and may have [log in to unmask] other weapons of mass http://www.caitys-world.com destruction" -Janet Reno ____________________________________________________________ [Posted in FML issue 2634]