Thanks Renee for adding to the discussion I just caught up with. You
are SO right. We all do the best we can, with what we have. Hunger is
not a pretty thing for any living creature. And, Alex, you gave me
belly laughs! What ferrets (and others we share home with) can get
into and what they choose to eat.!? WOW!

Come on folks, lighten up! Who's not had a dog eating cat poop or
ferrets drinking urine that hasn't thrown up their hands in frustration
despite valiant attempts to feed choice tidbits; fanatically change and
scrub bowls only to watch them paw through with the same yucky feet
that just dug out the litter box!

I personally feed a mix that includes about 10% Purina Cat Chow. Even
ferrets that only eat cheap generics will usually accept PCC. But you
can never tell! At FACT we try to ascertain what a ferret eats when
they arrive. If we don't know we watch very carefully to be sure they
ARE eating. Ferrets (and other animals, including humans) are notorious
for fixating on a single food early in life if NOT offered variety.

We've had ferrets nearly starve until we learned what they ate (worst
was Blue Seal - had to drive 40 miles to get some!). We highly
recommend offering a mix of foods. And yup, some PCC as THEY think
it's a treat! ;)  But shhhh, don't burst their balloon!

Remember, definitive, independent ferret diet studies have not been
done. If a premium diet ensured longevity, then far more ferrets would
live longer than the 5 to 8 we still see. In the almost 30 years I've
had ferrets, I have not seen any change in their longevity. In fact,
they seemingly live shorter not longer lives. And as for coats, I
don't have ferrets to wear them. ;)

Ann Gruden (also President of Ferret Assn of CT).

[Posted in FML 6929]