Shirley,

You stated in your previous post that you have been feeding the
Raw/Whole Prey diet to YOUR FERRETS for "over 14yrs". NOW you say your
oldest that has been on the the diet is only 4yrs old? So you have
absolutely no idea how long a ferret will live while on this diet do
you? And since most ferret usually don't start having health problems
until 4-6years of age, you don't personally have Proof of how healthy
they will be on a Raw/Whole Prey diet, do you? Also you stated that
there have not been Mass & many years of studies on this type of diet,
so where is the proof to show that it is better? So how do you really
know it is?

There are many things to consider on what will make a ferret healthy and
live longer, not just diet.

Such as water: Tap, well, bottled or purified.

Food: High quality kibble like Inova Cat food, all the EVO's, Natural 
Gold, Totaly Ferret, Wysong, etc. or your Raw/Whole Prey diet.

Exercise: The right amount for each individual ferret.

Lighting: The right amount, Natural or un-natural

Health care: regular check ups and how often they are done.

Vaccinations: how often they get them and what type.

Environment: where you live, country, suburb, city

Altering: Early, late or not at all.

If you live in what is called a HOT SPOT, such as in an area where
there is a dump or landfill, high or low Radon area.


And one of the most important thing:GENETICS

A ferret that is on an excellent diet can still succumb to health
problems if the other important things are not in play.So yes, while
diet is important, a healthy diet won't do squat unless all the other
things are done too. I have had older ferret come into the rescue that
were fed CRAP food. We switched their food to the HIGH quality kibble
we feed and improved their enviroment & health care. Most of these
ferrets lived to be 9-13 years of age W/O the Raw/Whole Prey diet.

Now in respect to Polecat and Polecat crosses "VS" the Domestic ferret,
YES there is a difference. Just look at the two. Body size is
different, so is Skeletal & Muscle structure (Including teeth). There
is even a difference in coats & ear set. I have American ferrets from
ferret farms that are rescues and I have personal & breeder ferrets
with foreign blood, BIG difference between the two.
 I also have 2
ferrets from a Private breeder, a brother & sister. They have no dental
problems where as the breeder who feeds their ferret Bob Churches
Chicken Gravy (and kibble) has Dental & Health problems with my two
ferret's siblings and has lost most of them. Still saw it is diet, I
don't. In this case I say it is Environment.

If you are going to push the Raw/Whole Prey diet, you also need to
stress the other things that are impotant for a ferret to possibly
be healthier.

Weasle Queen

[Posted in FML 5416]