Ferret attacked by cat

Question
A few days ago my ferret was attacked by the cat (I am guessing) the kids let her out of the cage and we had to leave for a bit...we couldn't find her, and we have left her out for the day in the past and she has been fine, as all the animals are friends...this particular cat has 4 week old kittens running around so we think she might have gotten territorial. There is also the thought that she might have chewed a cord and gotten electrocuted. This time when I got home she was sitting in the middle of the floor looking hurt. I quickly gave her a bath as she had a fresh sore on her tail, a scratch on her face, and a cut lip with half of one of her fang tooth broken off! We cleaned her cage and bedding, changed the litter and refilled all her food/water dishes so her cut wouldn't get infected. After her bath we put her in there to rest, she seemed like she was resting fine, for a few days. The problem is I think that she might now be dehydrated. All her wounds are healed now but she is acting weak, breathing hard and seems to be off balance, she does still seem to have an appetite and will drink...I have had her sitting beside me for the last hour or so, I'm not sure what to do, or what it could be (she is 5 or 6, we've had her for about 6 months)

Answer
Hello Jacqueline,

I am so sorry this happened to your little girl. It is NEVER a good idea to leave a ferret with another animal unsupervised. Evidenced by what you've just seen, even if a dog or a cat are friends with a ferret, they should never be allowed to play together unsupervised because it is too easy for someone to get hurt.

If your ferret is dehydrated, there are a few ways to tell. If you scruff her, and her skin stays tented, then that is definitely a HUGE sign of dehydration and at that point the only thing that can be done to help her is to have sub-Q fluids delivered (under the skin). Another sign of dehydration is pale, tacky gums.

She definitely needs to see the vet right away. She needs to be checked over just in case any of her injuries are worse than they appear and if she is dehydrated, she needs to get some fluids into her! Please get her to a vet for a check up, and please don't let your ferret out to play with your other animals unless you are around to supervise the activity. Also, keep your ferret away from those kittens!!

If you have further questions, concerns, or you need something clarified, please feel free to let me know!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews