Dear Jaclynn and everyone else;

I have one of those vets who is just too smart to be human, 3 degrees,
one of which is in nutrition, exotics certified, etc etc etc. She's
good with people and loves animals, her's and everyone else's, but
I'm sure she is from somewhere else with all that brain power.

She has seen, by my reckoning, some where between 7 and 10 thousand
ferrets in the last 15 years. Several of her patients arrive in sealed
up horse trailers with signs on them that say 'Caution - Big Cats' and
they don't mean a Maine Coon (breed of large house cat). She also sees
regular household pets, 6 ft. iguanas, 15-20 ft. snakes, $1000 fish,
and dogs and cats. So let's just concede she knows her way around an
animal or two.

Being concerned about my carnivore (dog) and obligate carnivores (cat
and ferrets) nutritional needs, I asked her one day about feeding raw,
supplementing raw, etc., foods. I'll summarize her answer: DON'T! All
the rumors, myths, gossip, etc about animals having different digestive
systems than ours giving them protection from things like salmonella
and e-coli are exactly that; rumors, gossip and myth. Every year she
treats one or some of just about everything for one 'bug' or another
and not only is treatment expensive, it is not always successful.

We'll both agree the chances are small, but I don't stand in an open
field during a lightening storm, and I bring all the 'kids' in when
they want to, and someone always wins the lotto.

I don't intend to start up the natural vs. commercial foods debate
again, both sides have valid points, and frankly I am not going to get
into it with anyone who wants to. But many people take what is written
on the FML at face value and for gospel. If someone as smart as our doc
says it can be dangerous and deadly, then I think that warning ought to
be passed on.

Not my 2 cents, I'm not that smart!

Brenda, Momma to the FurpeopleWeyr

[Posted in FML 7193]