Danee wrote
>".....So, I asked them what they fed these animals.
>
>The cats were kept for rodent control, and each morning a bowl of milk
>was put out for them as a supplement to the prey they caught.  If a
>female was carrying a litter, or nursing, they would supplement her with
>scrape raw meat.  Even cats that were brought into the house and kept as
>a house pet were fed the same way.  .........................."
 
Indeed Danee-
 
Meats and prey were the first pet food ( and working agricultural animal
diets!  I have to date stayed far away form this debacle-- but many folks
I supposed mostly younger folks with little agricultural background go
way over the edge on the debate!
 
A study was done in the 50's the Potter study documenting the declining
health of cats fed other than prey/ whole diets.
 
It is a drastic example of what happens when substitute feeding is done.
This was a more drastic study substituting milk for meat but did result
in bone density deprivation, growth , musculature development etc and
went on for a number of generatioins with the decline very evident.
 
#While I am reporting on a study of other than ferrets-- the same exact
thing happens with ferrets when breeding is observed.  Nutrition is THE
KEY in healthy development.  Many health issues are controlled
nutritionally and it only makes sense that when a required nutritional
content is changed by processing etc., there will be repercussions in
the health of the animal.
 
I am not shoving any choice of feeding down anyone's throat.  We have yet
to accomplish raw feeding here-- but I will tell you that our ferrets
both bred and farm thrive on a meat diet... to date it has been cooked
but compared to what the ferrets looked without it I can only say the
more nutrients they get from a non cooked diet the better they should be.
 
Our cardiac patients refuse kibble and will only eat cooked poultry --
when they do so the edemic fluid buildup decreases and disappears.
Nutrition is key in health and we have only touched the tip of the
health issue when beginning to study it.
 
Thank you Danee for bringing to light the need for a better understanding
of food for our pets.
 
Alicia Drakiotes
 
volunteer www.ferretwise.org
[Posted in FML issue 5210]