Mary wrote:
>That's very interesting Sukie and bears looking into.  I like the idea
>of asking for records.  I know when breeding rabits we had to provide
>3 generations back, and if you were a member of the ARBA (Am. Rabbit
>Breeders Assn), we had to keep a breeding history on each rabbit.
 
Makes sense.  Too often folks are more inclined to provide info on which
ferret won which ribbon in what show but not on the lifespans of the
lines or the health histories of the lines and at what ages assorted
problems occurred.  I guess that we all need to remember that there can
be pride in ribbons but there is heartache in lives that are too short.
Health and longevity first, please.
 
Wolfy wrote:
>Sukie, did cat food in the seventies and early eighties have a vastly
>different list of ingredients as today?  Particularly the first five
>ingredients.
 
I don't know, but that sure is a great question.  I looked and currently
the first ingredient is corn in Meow Mix.  It's entirely possible that
they changed their formulation and you bring up an excellent point that
the rest of us missed, Rebecca.  Good lateral thinking, m'lady!  This is
the sort of thing that shows that we are stronger as a group when we put
out heads together.  Flaws are important shapers.  There are just so many
things that have changed over the years, and that could be yet one more.
So many variables, so little time... If I had a wish I think that I'd
really wish that those who are in an economic position to do so would
put money into the ferret fund at the Morris Animal Foundation or other
sources of veterinary research funds so that more progress can be made
with real studies, beyond all the hypothesizing we've all been doing.  We
used to put a lot into that area to help ferrets in several such places
every year (a 4 figure sum total most years, sometimes more but sometimes
less since these were among our favored charities and MAF is even in our
wills) but our financial situation for the last couple of years has
prevented that so we have to wait till income is stable again to start
giving once more.
 
Judith wrote:
>Her theory is that the parents' hormonal systems are affected by the
>unnatural 'seasons' in a way that also affects the kits in utero, so
>that the kits' hormonal systems never really have a chance to be normal.
 
Interesting.  I'd never heard that hypothesis advanced.  Certainly, there
are multiple hormonal influences and interactions between fetuses and the
mother, and there are some fetal changes due to maternal environment --
like whether a mother satisfying an addiction like smoking may make the
fetus more vulnerable to other forms of addiction through some brain
chemistry changes -- that I have read are being studied.  I think that
the best ferret person to run this by (who also answers a lot of
questions) may be the ferret-specialist vet, Dr. Jerry Murray, who is
working on some endocrinology work toward new approaches for ferrets in
conjunction with researchers at Texas A&M.  If you go to the FHL and
select his AFERRETVET address instead of hitting reply you can get him
directly, or a general post would also be possible since this is health
related.  His most recent post seems to be
http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm?gid=1423922&messageid=2049
 
Eleanor wrote:
>I myself know of one person who had a ferret before they were legal in
>MA and this little girl was raised on iams kitten food and froot loops
>without any problems her entire life and lived to be 9 years old!  She
>was NOT spayed at 4-6 weeks old either! but rather just before or around
>her first heat!  She was a little panda.
 
Also interesting for several reasons.  You know, I don't think that
anyone has mentioned a 9 year old panda before anywhere that i can
recall reading.
 
Not all ferrets take to all foods offered and I've never heard of a food
that at least one ferret didn't reject.  Sometimes the food will be
accepted with persistence, but sometimes not so then you just have to
give what will be eaten.  Best of luck on that score.
[Posted in FML issue 3956]