Shirley wrote:
>The reason that further tips on how to switch a ferret's diet are not
>included in this post is to encourage the folk, who do want to make the
>change, to join Natural Ferrets where progress (or non-progress) can be
>monitored on a timely basis.
 
Stop going in circles Shirley.  You're the one posting on the FML,
claiming you have "other methods of switching." I belong to this group,
and I am asking what these other methods are.  I hope everyone sitting
on the fence can see where I'm going with "your" group.
 
Shirley wrote:
>Documentation on ferrets never suffering sickness or ulcers while
>switching to a natural diet?  Is there documentation of all the ferrets
>on earth that have been fed kibble and suffered from illness?  Sorry I
>only have personal experience of over 100 ferrets switched from kibble
>to natural and there has never been a problem.  Other FMLers may care to
>add their experiences.
 
Thanks for retracting (in an indirect way) your previous claim that:
>There has never been a case of a ferret that has changed to a natural
>diet suffering sickness or ulcers.
 
Shona wrote:
>Thank you for all the info, but this still doesn't answer my question: is
>24 hours without eating harmful to a ferret?
 
No, thank YOU Shona for pointing out what I've suspected all along.  You
DON'T know.  You don't know that it IS safe.  None of you do.
 
Shona wrote:
>(Sorry if I'm going even more off topic here Bill!) I've also read about
>this, and the RawCat list recommends switching cat's diets slowly for
>this very reason.
 
So from what you've said so far, you are basically throwing caution to
the wind when it comes to ferrets.  It's dangerous for dogs and cats, but
because there have been no actual "studies" done that you can find (or
even tried finding for all I know) on ferrets, you ASSUME it's safe until
information becomes available to the contrary.  You've put enough effort
into kibble to know that taurine is destroyed in the cooking process yet,
you still don't know whether or not it's safe for ferrets to go without
food for 24 hours.  You are too busy asking others that feel it is not,
to provide this information for you.  YOU are the one posting on groups
that you feel it is, therefore YOU are the one that should be providing
the proof.  I am not making false claims or debating whether kibble is
better than raw and vice-versa.  I am not encouraging people to make a
change that I'm not 100% sure is SAFE.  I am CHALLENGING your knowledge
and preparedness to SAFEFLY take on such a task, such as starting a group
on Yahoo (or anywhere else for that matter).  I want to ensure that you
are BOTH educated and equipped to provide ANY support or guidance to
anyone.  If you choose to risk your own ferret's health, unfortunately,
that's your call.  However when people such as Shirley and yourself
decide to put a group together, you become a DANGER to other ferrets.
You become a danger because you are advising people that something is
safe or "ok" for their ferrets, when you don't even know yourselves.
 
Shona wrote:
>The reason I asked for more details about the effects of not eating
>after certain periods is because I want to know specifics.  So far,
>nobody has any detailed information.  I'm not interested in vague
>statements about it being 'mean' or causing 'starvation' or 'organ
>failure' with no supporting evidence, because I don't believe any of
>these to be true.
 
You've provided no supporting evidence to the contrary with the exception
that you don't "believe" these claims to be true.  So - take a chance
then?  From what I've read, most challenging this whole 24 hour belief of
yours, have undoubtedly double-fold the experience with ferrets compared
to you.  Tell you what, YOU provide the supporting evidence to back up
what YOU believe and I will gladly go back into "lurk" mode.  After all,
it's your comments that have provoked me to speak up.
 
The bottom line is - YOU PEOPLE ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE
SUPPORT TO ANYONE THAT HAS DECIDED TO TRY CHANGING THEIR FERRET'S DIET.
Period.  Your group is ASSUMING your methods of changing a ferret's diet
is safe because you haven't found (or bothered to find) evidence to the
contrary.  Millions of people thought smoking was safe because there was
no evidence to suggest otherwise.  We now know better.  You are taking
the same risk regarding the unknown, except this is involving another
being.  Feel free to be this careless with your own health and leave
everyone else (and their families) out of it.  You are toying with lives,
without doing the research yourself to ensure none will be put at risk.
Where's the logic?  Where's the, "For the Ferrets"?
 
YOU people need to provide the proof that what you are doing is safe.
Not me, or anyone else.  We are not the ones jeopardizing the health of
ferrets because of assumptions.  Neither of you have the credentials nor
the scientific evidence to support that the methods being used for this
transition are actually SAFE.  The "take my word for it" answer is
unacceptable.
 
For anyone else out there considering a change in diet:
Like everything else, change should be gradual ***especially with
diet***.  If your ferret(s) won't take to raw, accept it and do the
best that you can with the kibble available.  Try the new diet with
any future additions that come along - preferably kits as they are much
more adaptable to change.
 
Shirley, you end your posts with, "for the ferrets."  I am too, except
I believe we are focusing on different things.  You have mentioned on
numerous occasions "the end result", whereas my focus is making sure
they get there, safely.
[Posted in FML issue 5208]