Caroline asked about lite cat food for a ferret her vet said was fat:
Long before I switched to a lite cat food I would cut WAY back on the
ferretone or linatone.  Iam's Cat food has all the nutrition needed for
ferrets.  (Based on information gleaned over the years and success in our
own business of ferrets.  Business is the collective noun for ferrets like a
gaggle of geese or a herd of buffalo for any recent newcomers.) Linatone and
its virtual twin Ferretone should be used as a treat or behavior modifier
not a supplement.  8in1 used to have a really bad ferret food that had a
lack of vitamins and you had to use their other product Ferretone to supply
a balanced diet.  8in1's new food which is very good doesn't require the
supplement.  I'd be more worried about the missing nutrients in a 'lite' cat
food than I would be worried about a pudgy ferret.  I of course haven't seen
the particular ferret in question so I can't give my opinon on how 'fat'
this ferret is.  Judging the 'fatness' of a ferret is tricky anyway.  I've
suggested a 'tube test' before and it is only a 'guideline'.  Some ferrets -
especially kits and some alters seem to have a pot belly and are perfectly
healthy.  You kind of have to also know how much muscle is mixed in with the
fat.  Big love handles or a swallowed basketball are reason for concern.  A
swollen abdomen with a real tense feel is a potential medical condition.
But a little pudge on ferrets probably isn't a real cause for drastic action
when winter fat stores are building up.
 
Linda asked about a ferret with no guard hair:
What was described is a ferret inbetween coats.  Normally the coats shange
by shedding and growing at about the same time.  We've got some that do
this dropping of the dark guard hairs while retaining a downy undercoat.
Makes them really soft like a puupy but also really funny looking.  Later
the new guard hairs should come in a the ferret returns to a real ferret
look.  Unless the strange condition lasts a long while I wouldn't woory at
all.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 1387]