Good Morning Susan:

I wanted to express my sympathy for your loss of your ferret. It is
always hard to accept their loss when you know they are sick, but
even harder over a sudden, unexpected loss.

I don't recall from your post how old this kiddo was, but I would be
more inclined to believe that the anxiety of scrambling to get the food
out of the roof of the mouth could have induced a heart attack. Maybe
there was simply an unknown condition. Or, perhaps if the ferret had a
low blood sugar level (whether it was insulinomic or not) maybe from
not eating enough and having this difficulty early on in the feeding
may have also led to its death. Or perhaps with the anxiety of the
situation it produced a lot of saliva or mucous. Either could cause
choking. Without an autopsy/necropsy you will never have a specific
answer.

I would not throw away the food. What about the other ferrets in your
shelter who desire this brand? I have had ferrets for well over a
decade and I occasionally have had to rescue someone who has had food
caught in the roof of their mouth -- NO MATTER WHAT THE BRAND!! I
suppose the only real answer to hard kibble is to soften it with a
bit of mositure. But I suspect that creates additional issues down
the road.

Being an EMT and riding ambulance where there are numerous "airway"
calls, I can tell you, Sukie does raise a very valid medical point.
If the kibble is stuck in the roof of the mouth and also blocked the
airway, it would have to be a HUGE, above average sized piece of
kibble.

I hope these other possibilities help you feel a little better about
feeding any kibble to your babies. Sometimes we are just powerless to
God's decision to call someone home, whether they have fur or not!

In sympathy,
Cathy Ryan

Feed rescued animals in two clicks
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

[Posted in FML 7145]