>From:    Carrie <[log in to unmask]>
>She was eating a poor quality cat food before and I refuse to go back to
>feeding her that just so she will eat.
 
I took in a rescue that was eating "junk food" (Cat Cafe') about three
years ago.  Finn was so imprinted on it that he absolutely refused to eat
anything else.
 
This is what worked for me, to get Finn to eat right:
 
Get the smallest package you can of the cat food your ferret was eating
before.  (If this works you won't need to feed it for more than a week.)
Run a cup's worth through a blender, food processor or coffee grinder, to
turn it into a coarse powder.
 
Grind up a cup's worth of the new, good food also.
 
Mix 1 TBSP of the cat food powder with 1/4 TBSP of the good food.  Add
enough hot water to turn the powder into a soft mush, let it set for a
few moments to make sure it's not too hot to eat, then feed this to your
ferret.  Because most of the mush is the cat food, it will smell like what
the ferret is used to and she should accept it.  (I had to spoon-feed Finn,
but otherwise he had no problem with it.)
 
Each time you feed the ferret, use a little bit more of the good food and a
bit less of the cat food in the mush.  Because it's powdered and mushed,
she can't pick out the poor from the good and just eat what she wants.  The
idea is to gradually accustom the ferret to the smell and taste of the good
food, and train her to eat it by associating it with something she already
knows.
 
When I did this with Finn, he started eating the good kibble on his own
within 4-5 days - about the time I had the mush mix at 75% good food.  I
continued with the mush for another day or two, just to make sure he was
eating enough.
 
Then, I threw the rest of the Cat Cafe' away.  ;-)
 
(Some folks will store the two foods together in the same container, so
that their smells mingle... this might work also.)
 
Hope this helps!
 
Carla Smith
WhyNot? Ferrets
www.whynotferrets.com
member, Rio Grande Domestic Ferret Club of El Paso, TX
[Posted in FML issue 2532]