Or at least maybe my final thought for today.
 
One thing we need to keep in mind is that practicing vets rarely conduct
scientific research.  That doesn't mean that they don't present things
that they notice in their practices to the veterinary community, though.
 
What vets will frequently do is write up articles on case studies.
They present what they observed, what tests they ran, and state what
conclusions they arrived at based on the information available to them.
That is basically what the raisin claim is about.
 
There is sometimes a problem getting articles on ferret medicine
published in the professional veterinary journals, though.  Journals like
the JAVMA tend to include more articles on things relating to dogs and
cats, because the majority of their readers are vets that treat only dogs
and cats.  I know of several articles I would consider of value that have
been rejected simply because they were about ferrets, and so, according
to JAVMA, not of enough interest to the general JAVMA readership.
 
It is unfortunate that ferrets are sometimes treated as second class
citizens, but it is true.  The downside it that it is harder for
information about ferret medical problems to become known by vets who
treat ferrets, and harder for vets who want to learn about ferrets to
gain the needed knowledge.
 
At this time, there are no veterinary schools in the US that require
students to learn about ferret medicine.  Many vet schools do not even
offer training on ferrets, and many that due lump ferrets in with birds,
reptiles and exotics.
 
So, there are times when anecdotal evidence should be considered even
when no scientific proof is available.
 
One last thing about the raisins.  In dogs, and in ferrets, there is no
evidence that feeding an occasional single raisin will be a problem.
All of the reports involve the consumption of a quantity of raisins.
 
I did find one article (yes, about dogs) that gives some specific
information.  It is the first case from a slide presentation given at The
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Department of Veterinary Pathology,
Slide Conference 2003- 2004.
 
    http://www.afip.org/vetpath/WSC/wsc03/03wsc07.pdf
 
--
Danee DeVore
International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator
http://www.ferretcongress.org
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com
You can help fight ADV!
Visit: http://help4adv.terrabox.com/
[Posted in FML issue 5189]