To Peter Long, concerning taurine -
 
        Peter - Taurine is added to most commercial brands of cat food in the
United states.  Taurine deficiency is a well-known cause of dilatative
cardiomyopathy in cats, a disease that ferrets also suffer from.
 
        Research into ferret requirements for taurine has not been done.  I have
seen cases of cardiomyopathy in ferrets on brands of cat food that contain
taurine, so I'm personally not sure whether it is involved in cardiomyopathy of
ferrets or not. Or perhaps affected animals have an inability to absorb or
utilize it (I'm just hypothesizing here).
 
       But I would recommend that all ferret owners ensure that the cat food
that they are feeding has taurine in it - you can always call the company.
 
        On a similar note -
 
        I am currently in contact with an animal nutritionist who I hope will be
able to answer the many questions on ferret nutrition that crop up.  I'll have
more on this later...
 
 
Bruce Williams, DVM
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[Posted in FML issue 0789]