Just thought I'd send a report on the progress I'm having with my stubborn
albino, and yes, it's good news.  (For those who aren't familiar with the
situation, she had been fed supermarket brand cat foods by the person we
adopted her from, and we couldn't get her to eat the Iams and Science Diet
kitten foods we feed our other two ferrets.)
 
Last week I went looking for samples of some of the brands Nancy Hartman
mentioned in her taste test results.  I mainly wanted to get my hands on
some Max Cat, Pro Plan and Bil Jac since those were the ones I'd heard
the most good things about.  Wouldn't you know, the pet store I first went
to was out of all of these, though.  They did give me a sample of some
brand named Eagle, and it looked like an OK food, but Tooters wanted
nothing to do with it.
 
Finally, I found another pet store that has samples available (there
aren't many of those in our area), and I got some Pro Plan kitten food.
She ate it a little hesitantly at first, but since then she's been eating
it pretty regularly.  I'm _so_ glad to finally not have to worry about
what she's eating, since Pro Plan looks to be a pretty nice food.  I'd
still like to try a sample of Max Cat, though, since I figure if it's
more flavorful than Pro Plan she might eat more often.  She's kind of
skinny, and I'd like to see her put on a little weight.
 
Unfortunately, it looks like I'm having another, somewhat related, problem.
Ginger, one of my other ferrets, had been getting into Tooters supermarket
food quite a bit lately.  Since switching to the Pro Plan, she hasn't been
eating much at all.  She doesn't like the Pro Plan, and, unlike what I thought
would happen, she hasn't gone back to eating the Science Diet like she did
before we adopted Tooters.  It looks like just the month or two of her
getting into the Friskies when I wasn't around to stop her has spoiled
her taste for the Science Diet. (Not to mention it appearing to have an
effect on her coat.)  I'm hoping she'll come around and start eating the
Science Diet again, since I'm starting to worry about her.
 
I have a question regarding the relation between diet and behavior.
Ginger has gotten to be very jumpy and nervous in the past two months
or so, and I was wondering if it could have anything to do with her
eating so much of the supermarket food recently?  She was a little
nervous when we first brought her home as a baby, but within a few weeks
she calmed down and seemed to outgrow it.  (I always figured it was just
due to being brought into a new environment.)  But recently, she's become
very jumpy.  For instance, she runs and hides at the slightest noise and
on a few occasions has even literally flown out of my arms because of
something (sometimes I don't even know what) spooking her.  Also, I took
her along with me last night when I went to pick up a friend, and she hid
in my coat the entire time.  Does anyone have any information on whether
a poor diet could be affecting her behavior like this?
 
Lastly, I noticed in our local TV listings for Saturday evening (2/13) that
our PBS station is airing a show called "Scientific American Frontiers".
Among the subjects being shown on the program, it says "endangered ferrets".
I know not all PBS stations show their programs on the same date or time,
but I thought I'd mention it anyway so anyone who's interested can keep
an eye on their listings for it.
 
--
Lynn-Anne Friese
mixcom!ccwwcc%uunet.uu.net
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[Posted in FML issue 0416]