Since Evo came out with it's no grain products, everyone wonders what
is the difference?

*This whole post is about the differences between the Dog and Ferret
foods. I don't have any information that says if the levels in the
dog foods are enough to sustain a ferret's health. I am interested in
finding that information out. Maybe someone who knows can look at this
information.*

There are no big differences in the cat and ferret foods. However,
there are valid differences in the dog foods. Here is a comparison
of the nutrition: http://www.mmfr.savetheferrets.org/evoonly.html

Any and all mistakes and typos are mine... Green means it's Evo Ferret,
or equal to the nutrition. Blue means the levels are below, and red
means high. Above is nutritional breakdown, below is ingredients.

In every case except for the following, the cat and ferret is the
same - ferret evo has 542 kcal/kg, and the feline has 612. The only
other difference is that the Taurine level is slightly higher in the
ferret, at .27mg/kg, instead of the feline's .2 mg/kg.

However, looking at the two small bites dog foods, you can see there is
a major amount of lower percentages and amounts. It's not just protein.
It's several very important ingredients, such as reduced percentages of
all amino acids, sometimes almost halved, and the choline levels are
far lower. This is also true of Riboflavin and B1 - which is a third
of the at and ferret amount, even less in the red meat version. Niacin
is nearly halved, and Vit A is lower, as well as Vitamin K. Taurine -
something I've heard is important for our little guys, which I am not
sure on because I can't remember where I heard it from, is at .06 mg/kg
in the red meat version. Not good, if they need it. In the Ferret Evo,
they have taurine at .27 mg/kg.

The dog foods also have higher percentages of a *few* items. Especially
iron, which is at 378mg/kg in the red meat....the dog foods also have
more carbohydrates, Vit. 5, and B12 (the one that's not riboflavin).

Read the chart, find more info about what ferrets need, and decide for
yourself whether it's safe. I personally would not feed ferrets Dog
Evo, as the ferret and cat versions have much more nutritional value.
Even for mixing, why feed the dog food with more carbs? You're missing
out on the levels you get with the other foods.

But, I don't have a list of what a ferret *should* eat every day.
I'd be happy to see one! A ferret food pyramid, or "ferret" Daily
Recommended Intake, if you will.

The ingredients listing does not tell all, as you can see from the
chart. Even though the ingredients aren't varied much between them,
the values of the nutritional elements are widely different in the
dog foods. You don't know this just be reading the ingredients.

If someone who has a nutritional education about ferrets and their
needs could take this a bit further, I'd be very grateful. Mine won't
eat anything except for Totally Ferret, so I can't switch, but I would
love to have the info for TF foods to see what the differences are,
and also for other foods.

Laryssa

[Posted in FML 6065]