Sukie wrote:
>The frustrating part is when people who feed raw refuse to accept
>that side of their choice even when past vet posts are provided
>illustrating how hard the diseases can be to treat and that the vets
>who wrote those posts do have experience with such infections.

LOL I get TWICE as frustrated when reading, Every DAY on EVERY list
that I am on, how kibble-fed ferrets DIE (or need very costly and
painful medical and/or surgical intervention) of insulinoma, adrenal
disease, hairball blockage, bedding material blockage, ulcers, kidney,
heart and liver disease caused by periodontal disease and IBD. All of
these complaints are RARELY seen in naturally fed ferrets, and even
then, not until they are reaching old age. Neither have I ever come
across a ferret dying or becoming ill because of a natural diet.

The 3 vets, with whom I am most closely associated, have little time
to work on studies or make their findings known on the internet.
Nevertheless, their observations and findings are considered to be
valid by me.

It all boils down to keeping it all in perspective.

While, initially, a natural diet seemed more expensive to me, the
savings in vet bills and pain to the ferrets put me and my ferrets
way in front in the long run.

And just as a reminder: A natural (or species appropriate) diet does
not include ground, cooked, plant material-added, or otherwise
tampered-with food. It means small whole prey (the safest and best) or
a "prey model" consisting of raw meaty bones of a suitable size with
ocasional offal. If you are a "germophobe", heck, pour boiling water
over the raw meaty bones before you serve them to your ferrets. This
will probably make you feel better, but is not really necessary.

I'm suddenly hungry,
Shirley

PS I agree with Sukie that the emphasis should be removed from
*longevity* to *wellness during life* !!!!

PPS I DARE you to get me started on the cruelty of CAGING ferrets. :-)

[Moderator's note: Umm, no, not yet please! It IS time to wind down the
food debate though now mostly the same people are exchanging pretty
much already posted opinions... only THEN we can approach the next
heated debate ;-) BIG]

[Posted in FML 5430]