Hi, everyone; I've been mostly a lurker here in the past, but I have a
problem I hope some of you experienced ferret caretakers can advise me
on.  I have a sweet little female, maybe 2 years old (she's a shelter
baby, we don't know her exact age), and like most critters, she loves her
food.  The vet says she's 10% overweight, or to put it differently, have
you ever seen a ferret with fat armpits?  She's a bundle of energy, but I
worry.
 
She came to me eating kitten food, which the vet said to cut with adult
cat food to bring her calorie intake down, and that worked for a while.
Then I managed to convince her (Mimi, not the vet!) to eat Totally
Ferret.  She loves it!  She cleans her plate every day, and I've never
seen so many poops that looked so good!  This is a relief, since some
of her stools used to look rather small and dark, sometimes a little
greenish, like she was under stress.  But like I said, she's fat again.
 
Our housing situation forbids her from having free roam of the house; she
gets daily exercise, although not as much on weeknights.  I know you're
supposed to offer ferrets food continuously, so how can I help her loose
some weight without stressing her little tummy?  Any suggestions would be
most welcome.  Thanks,
 
Bridget & Mimi
[Posted in FML issue 4264]