"TinyPrintsOnTheHeart.com" <[log in to unmask]> wrote
>I guess my beef with hammering a business who is selling items to make a
>profit or their living is that, you as a consumer must educate yourself
>and can't rely on any store to offer you "just the good things for you."
>Food stores and restaurants, for example, sell all kinds of things that
>are not really good for you......too much fat etc.  But it is up to you,
>when you go to these places to make healthy choices.  We don't hammer a
>food store to remove "all fatty foods" or all "high in carbohydrate"
>foods.
 
I agree that education is an important part of this issue.  The problem
arises when people are in part being educated by the major pet stores and
their employees.  Plus, ferrets don't have the ability to make choices on
what is purchased for them.  Therefore, I feel we need to educate the pet
stoes on what is and isn't healthy, with the hope that they will pass on
the information.
 
At the Symposium, people had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Mike from
PETSMart, and learn about that chain's philosophy on selling ferrets.
Some of us discussed with him the fact that there were many harmful or
unhealthy ferret products on their store shelves, and he agreed.  As a
vet, he knows the problems that a poor diet can cause or contribute to.
He even went so far as to say that in his opinion, there is a need for
development of new treat products that will be beneficial rather then
harmful to ferrets.  So, the idea that some products currently on the
market are not good for ferrets is nothing new.
 
Now, there is a big difference between unhealthy and harmful.  Some of
the things we have mentioned fall into the unhealthy category - they are
not good for the ferret, but will not cause any immediate health problem.
Other products, though, are downright harmful, and we need to encourage
all pet suppliers to remove the harmful products.
 
Items containing onion or onion juice or powder are harmful.  Onion
can trigger autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which is frequently fatal in
ferrets.  Garlic, garlic juice and garlic powder can cause renal failure,
and one of the prepared duck soup products contains garlic.  So, here is
someone feeding their sick ferret this product, hoping it will aid in
the recovery, and all the while it may be causing additional problems.
Products containing carrots and/or dried fruit pieces can cause
blockages.  Almost all of us know or have heard of at least one ferret
that has died or almost died from eating these kinds of "treats".  And,
as we learned from Dr. Kawasaki at the Symposium, raisins can cause renal
failure.  According to him, as few as 7 or 8 raisins eaten at one time
can be deadly.
 
Products that are harmful should definitely be pulled from store shelves.
They are not allowed to serve you arsenic in your food in a restaurant,
or sell food containing it in grocery stores.  And so, we should push
suppliers to stop selling these types of items.
 
But, I feel it is right to also push for removal of unhealthy items.
This is my opinion, and some may disagree, as is their right.  Unhealthy
items are ones that contain a lot of sugar, and little else, or are all
fat.  Our guys do need fat in their diet - more then many other animals.
But too much is unhealthy.
 
There are several reasons I feel this way.  First, as I previously
mentioned, many new ferret owners get their initial education from the
pet stores and their employees.  Now, while we may realize this is not
the best way to learn about ferrets, but we have to realize there are
many people new to ferrets that don't know this.  So, IMHO, any place
that sells or adopts out ferrets, or holds themselves up as a ferret
specialty store, should try to sell only healthy products.  It is part
of the education process.
 
Next, while I don't think there has been any scientific study done to
prove it, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that a diet high in
carbohydrates may make ferrets more susceptible to developing
insulinomas.  Most if not all of the ferret "expert" vets will tell
you that it is not good to feed your ferrets sugary treats.  We are
constantly complaining about the many diseases that affect our furry
companions, so why would we want to feed them something that might
increase the likelihood of them getting these diseases.
 
We worry about which kibble is the best one to feed our ferrets, and even
pay high prices for the ones we feel are the best, or we feed a natural
diet of raw meats, and then turn around and offer crap as treats.  This
makes no sense what so ever to me.
 
I have had ferrets now for about 20 years.  During the early years, we
knew little about what made a good diet, and I fed my kids grocery store
cat food and gave them all kinds of sugary treats.  Most of my ferrets
developed insulinomas by age 4 or 5.  After I had gone through this for
a while, my vet asked me what I was feeding and what I was using for
treats.  He suggested I go to a higher quality kibble (this was still
before even Totally Ferret was available) and that I avoid any sugary
treats.  I followed his advice, and the occurance of insulinomas in my
kids quickly decreased.
 
I won't claim that my kids never get an insulinoma, but many don't.  And,
with the ones that do, it is usually when they are 7 or 8 years old.  I
consider this a great improvment.
 
There is also one more reason I think we need to convince pet suppliers
not to carry these unhealthy treats.  Right now, there is not a big
selection of healthy treat products out there.  And, manufacturers have
little incentive to provide them.  The unhealthy treats are easier and
cheaper to produce, and as long as people buy them, why change.  But,
if the major pet stores stopped carrying them, and gave as their reason
that it was because they were unhealthy, then the manufacturers would
have a very big incentive to provide some better quality items.
 
It would be nice if we could trust all potential ferret owners to take
the time to educate themselves about ferrets and their needs before
getting one.  But, we all know that is not how things work.  Therefore,
it is up to us to provide the needed education from many different
angles, and convincing pet stores not to carry unhealthy or harmful
products is just one of them
 
Danee
International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator
http://ferretcongress.org
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com
[Posted in FML issue 4873]