To Michelle Skinner:
 
     Concerning Tia and Gretchen:
 
     Sometimes I feel that I say the same things over and over again, but
here goes once more.  On my pets (and many that I consult on) I find that a
good way to put wait on is to feed (as an addition to your ferret's diet)
several large helpings of Gerber's Second Foods Chicken (in the blue jar) -
not Chicken and Rice, as I've been quoted on, but just Chicken.
 
     Make sure to warm it to a little above room temperature - helps to
volatilize the odor, and the ferrets will eat it more readily.  Now for the
first one or two times, they may not understand what the deal is, so you'll
have to start by putting it on your finger and putting your finger in their
mouth (my non-traumatic version of "force-feeding" - I don't use syringes to
feed ferrets - there is too much chance of them inhaling the material - then
you have a REAL problem.)
 
    Soon your girls will be eating it off a spoon, off a plate, or anywhere
they can get it.  It's always my first suggestion for underweight ferrets,
and I've never seen it fail.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
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Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1285]