Hi Everybody..
 
The great FOOD CONTROVERSY...
 
Nearly every edition of the fml I read posts going into great detail about
the contents of various cat foods..  and the extensive comparisons of
protein in its ratio to fat in cat foods..  with usually cross comment
comparing the cat food content ratios with ferret food ratios and so on..
All those statistics are all fine well and good but cat food is made for
cats and ferret food is made for ferrets!  There is a reason these two types
of foods are labelled and recommended for the applicable species..
 
Ferrets have a three hour digestive tract time..  Cats have a five to six
hour digestive tract time.  Ferrets need nutrients released at the time the
food reaches the part of the gut where it can be best absorbed..  And cats
need nutrients released in their guts where they can be best absorbed..  the
two species do not absorb the same nutrients at the same locations in their
guts..  so the foods are engineered to break down at different rates and
with species nutritional absorption timed to fit the gut of the appropriate
critter.  Cat food takes those extra hours to break down and the nutritional
elements to become available to the animals digestive system.  If you feed a
cat food to a ferret the food will break down in the wrong sequence [some
may match some of the time with some of the foods] and the ferret will have
finished the digestive process long before the cat food has finished
breaking down and releasing its elements.  so all those great ingredients on
the label tell you nothing about what actually is able to be absorbed by
your ferret..  if the fats don't break down in the short three hours of
ferret digestion they end up in the litter box not in the ferret..  and the
same for the proteins.  A cat fed ferret foods will have the food completely
broken down and still have a gut trying to extract needed nutrition from now
useless remains for the rest of their 5-6 hours of digestion..  Cats love
ferret food but are chronically hungry and rapidly develop nutritional
deficits forced to exist on this too rapidly broken down food source.
 
Ferrets require very different vitamins and minerals in different dosages
than do cats.  So ferrets fed cat food can easily develop deficiencies that
affect immune responses and resistance to disease.
 
I have read outrage at ferrets fed dog food, and even rabbit food, and many
posts condemning feeding ferrets bread soaked with milk!  Dog food is for
dogs, rabbit food is for rabbits, and cows milk is for cows and bread is
[with a few exceptions] not for any living creature.  These foods are
designed for very different species.  They take into account the nutritional
requirements and digestive systems of the species they are engineered to
nourish.  No one seems to have a problem accepting that fact.  Ferrets CAN
exist on dog food, milk and bread, and even lab block made for rodents but
that does not indicate those feeds are appropriate nor acceptable.
 
Ferrets CAN exist on cat food too.  And if there is absolutely no way to
obtain quality ferret food [trash cat food is bad for cats too just like
trash ferret food is bad for ferrets] your ferret can manage to stay alive
on cat food... or dog food or whatever.  That does not ever make it
appropriate nor acceptable any more than dog food etc.  is appropriate or
acceptable..  It is a less than optimum compromise forced on the ferret
owner by the lack of availability of the correct food for the ferret.
 
To fully understand the ferret digestive system and its complex points of
specific nutrient absorption and the extensive research that went into the
production of Totally Ferret you have to attend one of the presentations of
Dr. Williard, the person who spent years extensively analysing the ferret
nutritional requirements and the necessary structure requirements that must
be engineered into ferret food in order to provide the ferret with complete
nutrition that breaks down correctly for the maximum nutritional advantage
that can be provided for the species.  This presentation is very detailed
and truly educates the listener on all aspects of ferret nutrition and
includes a slide series, graphs, detailed mapping of the ferret gut, and a
picture of ferret requirements that is incredibly complicated and detailed.
To truly educate someone on this subject takes a couple of hours, but when
he is through you will really understand the results of those years of
research and study and can then see clearly why proper food is so carefully
and expensively created for each individual species.
 
Quality cat food is also very expensive.  The sources of fats and proteins
are vitally important.  That is pointed out in every post concerning the
ingredients in these foods discussed.  No one has a problem with not feeding
dog food or rabbit food or rodent food.  And there is just no possible way
anyone can force cat food to be any more appropriate for feeding ferrets
than any of those other wrong foods.  Wrong food for wrong species simply
cannot be justified.
 
So its not what's in the food or from where the nutrients are derived ...
Its the needs of the species that are critical here.  It is simply not
possible for cat food to ever be made 'correct' for nourishing ferrets!  The
money you save by feeding cat food [and the best quality cat food is very
expensive] to your ferret may very well later be spent many times over
treating the health problems that result from long term improper nutrition.
 
If you will but take the time and trouble to attend Dr. Williards
presentation, and then then locate and attend an equally in depth
presentation on cat food nutritional requirements and the digestive systems
of cats, you will see very clearly why these two species foods are ONLY
correct for the animals for which they are engineered .There is a very good
reason why it takes many years to earn a doctorate in nutrition and even
more post graduate study to become expert in animal nutrition!
 
For the sake of your ferrets please do everything in your power to obtain
the correct food for them.  Accept the food designed for another species
only if you are absolutely forced to do so.  With ferret ownership comes the
obligation to provide proper food and to do otherwise is to fail in your
responsibility to your pet.
 
We are very fortunate, here in the U S to have correct food available for
our ferrets, residents of other countries have to go to incredible lengths
and expense to obtain what we can get with one phone call.
 
As is always the case, each person must decide for themselves what they will
feed their ferrets.  But I would no more feed my fuzzys another species food
than I would raise my children on canned dog food.
 
A Healthy Fuzzy is Happy Fuzzy.. and a Happy Fuzzy is a Joy to behold!
 
dayna and the Woozles    :]
 
 "Resident of... Marvelous Menagerie Of Mirthful Mayhem"
 dayna frazier  102046,3162  18-Sep-1996  23:22:20 PST
[Posted in FML issue 1697]