To Kenneth:
 
>We tried given them both 'Deli-Cat' cat food in place of Ferrret food
>(when we ran out and couldn't get to a pet store), and their stools
>changed color and almost looked bloody to me!  We switched them back to
>their normal food, and it seems like their stools are returning to
>normal.  Is this a normal thing to happen?  I heard that cat food was
>good for Ferrets.
 
     Check out the color of Deli-cat.  Many commercial cat foods are
reddish due to food coloring.  Oftentimes if you give them to ferrets, the
food coloring will pass right through.  If you put some paper down, it will
stain the paper red, but the color will not darken over time, so you  can be
assured that it's not blood.
 
    Cat food is good for ferrets.  Many ferrets, including mine who hate
ferret chow, are maintained very well on cat food.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
[log in to unmask]  OR
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1281]