Twinkle Toes' "Mama" posted some interesting info. yesterday on dealing
with fleas, etc.  While I agree with much of it, I'm concerned about a
little of it.  Specifically:
 
>At the bottom of his/her/their bed put a pillowcase filled with cedar chips
 
Inhaling cedar fumes has been found to be harmful; I would be very
reluctant to do this with my pets.  For an overview of medical research
documenting cedar/pine respiratory toxicity, check out:
http://www.trifl.org/cedar.html.
 
>and pennyroyal (you may only be able to get this in the essential oil
>form, that's OK,just sprinkle  in the mix and you're set.).
 
Pennyroyal EO is dangerous around pregnant humans and animals, so it should
NOT be used anywhere near your ferret if she is pregnant.  Michael
Castleman's book "The Healing Herbs" is a good source of info.  for more
on that.
 
>The best thing I've found to keep the fleas away from Twink and myself is
>garlic.  Bugs hate garlic.  Mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, any parasite-even
>worms.  I hide a small piece in some peanut butter and give it to him as
>a treat.  He hardly notices it.
 
Garlic has been linked to Heinz body anemia (a potentially fatal condition)
in some animals.  Nobody knows if it causes this illness in ferrets, but it
causes it in cats and dogs.  I have an article from the Journal of the
American Veterinary Medical Association that provides more info. on this,
if you are interested.  (Please email my home account for this:
[log in to unmask]).  I believe it is both fresh and cooked/powdered garlic
that is linked with Heinz body anemia.
 
- Ela
[Posted in FML issue 2439]