To Jen Andre Newton:
 
>The man I bought Dobey from fed his ferrets quite a range of things that
>seemed a bit odd to me.  Raw fish chunks, wet dog food and wet and dry cat
>food.
 
    Doesn't sound so much odd as ignorant.  Did this person also raise mink
by any chance - many mink farms use large amounts of raw fish.  The problem
with raw fish is that it can cause several problems in mustelids (and other
species) if given in too high amounts - 1 - the presence of thiaminase, an
enzymes that renders thiamine in the diet inactive, can cause destruction of
certain parts of the brain, resulting in a disease known as "Chastek's
paralysis", and 2, raw fish is high in unsaturated fatty acids and can cause
a degenerativ change in the fat of the body, known as steatitis.
 
    Hopefully Dobey got onto a better diet early in life....
 
Bruce H. Williams, DVM         Dept. of Veterinary Pathology
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath    Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]         Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
                               [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1245]