To Anne H:
>...The problem is that she cannot get Thymiane (her girl) to eat an older
>ferret food. She is currently on a blend of Totally ferret regular and
>for older ferrets and she picks out the regular. Her owner is afraid her
>poor girl will starve!
>So my question is this: How helpful is older ferret food? Are there any
>other options (she won't touch Sheppard and Greene Older ferret either).
Food for geriatric ferrets is a relatively new developement, but a good
one. As animals age, their kidneys wear out - that's a fact of life. In
certain species, like cats, rats, and ferrets, the oldest ones who don't
develop neoplasms or heart disease, often will die from renal failure -
that's the nature of the machine. Something has to send you across the
Rainbow bridge!
In my experience, the aging change in the kidneys of ferrets closely
parallels those in the cat. We know that in the cat, we can help preserve
renal function and slow the deterioration of the kindeys by decreasing the
protein content of the diet in middle aged to older animals. This is also
commonly done at the onset of renal failure as part of therapy.
The most beneficial aspect of geriatric ferret and cat chows is the lower
protein levels, and this is why I change my ferrets over after they hit
about 3.5 years. They do very well on the lower protein.
Unfortunately, as in many other areas of ferret medicine, no one has done a
real study on the true benefits of a pretein restricted diet in ferrets.
We know that it helps in cats, and the theory and comparison is probably
sound in ferrets. Personally, I buy into it, if that matters.
But what if you can't get your ferret to eat a geriatric diet? You can try
some of the high-quality feline diets made for older cats, and if those
don't work - then don't worry about it. It's a nice to have, but many
ferrets will attain a ripe old age without it.
A protein-restricted diet through starvation is not really what we want to
achieve!
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3250]
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