so, my good FMLers,

seeing as there's been a fair bit of talk lately re: best foods for
ferrets, i figured i'd join in with some questions of my own...

i'm considering using kumpi kat as regular food for my ferrets (they
currently eat iams kitten). i have some that they really like as
'treats', but i wonder about it as a regular diet.

i'm trying to get them off iams as i have to go to walmart to get it
(ugh, don't get me started...about the only thing i buy at walmart is
the ferret's food and i want to not even do that anymore) and i can
get kumpi at the natural food store i work at. i also like that kumpi
is locally made in colorado; just 'down the road' in denver.

at my store we also sell 'chicken soup for the cat lover's soul',
'taste of the wild', 'avoderm', and 'solid gold'. any comments on
these? i live up in the mountains so it's not easy for me to be able
to travel to get totally ferret, just fyi. it's be about a 50-mile
one-way trip to the nearest supplier, by my reckoning. :-/

http://www.kumpikat.com/ingredients.html

here's all the technical info (sorry for any formatting
errors/difficulty in reading...i pasted it from the webpage
spreadsheet into notepad)

****************************************************

Kumpi Kat All Life Stages Food

Deboned Chicken Meal, Chicken Meal, Rice Flour, Oatmeal, Whole Dried
Egg, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin
E and Citric Acid), Menhaden Fish Meal, Chicken Liver Meal, Dried
Cheese, Dried Kelp Meal, Flax Seed Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Cod Liver
Oil, Dried Cranberry, Dried Blueberry, Dried Carrot, Dried Zucchini,
Dried Spirulina, Dried Parsley, Yeast Culture, Choline Chloride,
Potassium Chloride, Salt, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Amino Acid
Complex, Sodium Bicarbonate, Taurine, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine,
Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Magnesium Oxide, Dried Lactobacillus
Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium
Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract,
Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Extract, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron
Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Copper
Sulfate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Amino
Acid Chelate, Cobalt Carbonate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium
Selenite, Rosemary Extract, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3
Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate,
L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin
Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine
Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Biotin, Calcium
Iodate, Yucca Schidigera Extract

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein Not Less Than 31%
Crude Fat Not Less Than 24%
Crude Fiber Not More Than 3%
Moisture Not More Than 10%
Ash Not More Than 5.5%

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein Minimum 31.00%
Crude Fat     Minimum 24.00%
Crude Fiber   Maximum  3.00%
Moisture      Maximum 10.00%
Ash    Maximum    5.50%
Calorie Content
Calculated Calories Metabolizable Energy 4,339 kcal/kg
Calculated Calories/Cup Metabolizable Energy 584 kcal/cup
(1 cup = 4.75 oz.)

Nutrient Analysis
Vitamins         Function                      As Fed Level   Unit
Vitamin A       Eyes / Coat / Bones / Skin    34,018.00      IU/kg
Vitamin D3      Teeth / Bones / Vigor          3,325.00      IU/kg
Vitamin E       Reproduction / Fetal Growth      388.00      IU/kg
Thiamine (B1)   Nerves / Digestion                81.00      mg/kg
Riboflavin (B2) Eyes / Skin / Enzymes             18.00      mg/kg
Pantothenic Acid  Growth / Nerves                 60.00      mg/kg
Niacin          Nerves / Coat                    132.00      mg/kg
Pyridoxine (B6) Blood / Growth                    10.00      mg/kg
Folic Acid      Fetal Development                  2.31      mg/kg
Biotin          Metabolism / Skin / Coat           1.94      mg/kg
Vitamin B12     Blood                                 0.370  mg/kg
Choline         Liver / Kidney / Nerves           3,971.00   mg/kg

Minerals        Function                     As Fed Level    Unit
Calcium         Bones / Teeth / Muscle               1.37    %
Phosphorus      Bones / Teeth / Muscle               0.90    %
Potassium       Body Fluids / Metabolism             0.83    %
Sodium          Regulate Body Fluids                 0.39    %
Chloride        Regulate Body Fluids                 0.70    %
Magnesium       Bones / Teeth / Muscles              0.09    %
Iron            Blood                              200.00    mg/kg
Copper          Blood / Hormones                    22.00    mg/kg
Manganese       Blood / Teeth / Muscle              41.00    mg/kg
Zinc            Reproduction / Skin                254.00    mg/kg
Iodine          Thyroid                              5.20    mg/kg
Selenium        Bones / Muscle                       0.57    mg/kg

****************************************************

thanks for any advice! :)

~sherrie, aka daoine o' the ferret queen

burleigh and pandora

and all those over the bridge...

[Posted in FML 6846]