To Ethan and Ceili:]
 
        Concerning your question about low ash content cat foods and ferrets:
 
        The purpose of low ash cat food is to decrease the prevalence of urinary
stone formation in cats (more like urinary SAND) which may cause blockage of the
urethra or inflammation of the urinary bladder in cats.  This is a fairly common
problem in cats that can be addressed in many less affected animals simply by
lowering the pH of the urine and decreasing the mineral (magnesium and
phosphorus) of the diet.  Science Diet is a very popular cat food that is very
low in ash.
 
        While occasional ferrets have been reported to have bladder stones, it
is certainly not the problem that it is in cats, more like the occasional
problem that you see in dogs and most other species.  In my opinion, there is no
need to seek out a special type of low ash food in ferrets unless your ferret
has had problems with urinary stones in the past.
 
        At our house, we feed a combination of Science Diet, IAMS (two types)
and Dad's, all in the same bowl.  We think they like a choice and have varying
tastes in food...
 
Bruce Williams, DVM
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[Posted in FML issue 0602]