A large number of the very early mammals were insectivorous, BTW, and
some insects are very sweet (See other post).  (Says she who used to
work some summers on a Paleocine/Eocine university dig, and was the
student curator long ago for about 4 and 1/2 years of a large university
teaching collection of fossils, bones, and teeth...)
 
Linda wrote these good points which I should NOT have missed:
>Actually, virtually ALL mammals can taste sugar, including dogs.  The
>major exceptions are domestic cats and their wild relatives.
>See for example
> <http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050718/full/050718-16.html>  and
> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/24/
> AR2005072401107.html>
>
>This suggests that the predilection for sugar was an early evolutionary
>trait in mammals that was lost by a common cat ancestor.
 
Of course, tasting can differ from marked attraction.
 
BTW, bitterness to which there can be an aversion can be associated
with several things, including poisons/toxins but at some other times
(or sometimes the sources but dose-dependent) medicinal or nutritional
aspects...
 
Anyway, I still would *not* give sweetened cereals.
 
Re: ozone:  we heard from someone working on our furnace the other
day that the companies selling the more recent electrostatic products
(ozone generators not included in that comment) have reduced their
ozone emissions.  Low atmosphere ozone is still not safe according to
the study quoted yesterday, but the ones he knew about are apparently
trying to reduce the risk factor.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/yu-sfn021606.php
 
The full article is available here as an html full text piece:
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/8816/8816.html
and here as a pdf:
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/8816/8816.pdf
 
-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my
private posts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who love
them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5250]