I have been a ferret owner for 6 years now and have 2 girls, Star (6yrs
old) & Sega (5 1/2yrs old).  I have a question for all of you and I hope
you can help.  Both my girls have been eating Totally Ferret now for
approx. 5 years or so.  Sega has always been very picky when it comes to
food as opposed to Star who would steal the dinner off your plate if she
could!  Recently, I opened a new 5lb bag of Totally Ferret and noticed that
Sega wasn't eating it.  She would go to the food bowl, sniff it, make a
face as though she just tasted Bitter Apple and walk away.  I watched her
overnight, she was drinking her water normally and I gave her the only
other things that she will eat, a little Nutrical and some Ferretbites.  I
called my vet the next day assuming she was sick or had a sore in her mouth
which was causing her not to eat.  My vet told me to wait a few days and if
she wasn't better to bring her in.  I tried to emphasize that this could
not wait that long but he said that she will eat if she's hungry enough.
That same day I decided to try and find another bag of TF, I thought maybe
there was something wrong with the batch I had.  I found a small bag at
one of the local pet shops and brought it home.  She sniffed it once and
proceeded to eat it.  I figured that I had a "bad" bag of TF.  I called
Performance Foods and asked if they have had any calls about the food being
different.  They told me that they had a few ferret owners call in and say
that their more finicky ferrets would not eat a particular batch of food.
They gave me the lot number which in fact corresponded to the bag of food
that Sega would not eat.  I ordered a new bag of food from Performance
Foods and they said that they would send me their newest batch.  Well, I
got the food in and she still won't eat it.  Now, I'm in trouble because
the only bag of Totally Ferret that she will eat is the small bags(12.25
oz) that have a 7/2/99 exp. date on it.  Anything newer than that she won't
eat.  I have compared the look of the foods and they do look different.
The older food that she will eat is smaller, darker and smoother while the
newer food is much lighter, grainy looking and slightly bigger in size.  I
talked to Performance Foods again and they said that the people who had
some trouble with their "finicky" ferrets eating the "new" food sent in
samples of TF their ferrets would and would not eat trying to show the
difference but they said they couldn't find a significant difference.  So
now I am stuck, Sega will only eat the Totally Ferret if it has a 7/2/99
exp. date on it.  Anything newer must taste/smell different to her.  I
don't know.  I scrambled around and found almost 30 bags (12.25oz) of the
older food she will eat and have since frozen it to try to keep it fresh.
This has bought me some time but has not solved the problem.  She is only
5 1/2 years old so I must find something else that she likes.  I have tried
feeding her besides TF, Iams kitten food (which she ate as a baby in the
pet shop), Iams cat food (orange bag), Tender Vittles chicken cat food, 8-1
Ultimate Diet, TF for Older Ferrets, 8-1 canned ferret food, 8-1 Premium
Ferret Diet and 8-1 Ultra-Blend.  I have tried all combinations of
soaking/storing the different foods together, hiding food in a treat,
offering the new food as a treat.  Nothing.  She will not eat anything
other than the expired TF that I have in the freezer and it's dwindling.  I
know there are more ferret foods out there to try yet but I have a feeling
she won't eat them.  I will try every last one of them if I have to though.
Has anyone had this problem and if so, what have you done?  Also, will a
ferret eventually eat if it's hungry enough or will it starve itself.  Any
ideas are most appreciated.  I'm not sure what else to do or try.  I am
scared to death of running out of the TF that I have left that she will
eat.
 
Thank you and sorry for the long post,
Noelle - Star & Sega
[Posted in FML issue 2814]