WARNING-- John G.  Keen, Managing Director, Companion's Choice Products Ltd
is attempting to twist my words to endorse his product.
 
I wish to set the record straight that I know nothing of his product, as I
have never even seen it, muchless tested it on my own ferrets.
 
Rest assured, dear FML readers, I would never recommend a food I did not
wholeheartedly believe in ...period.
 
Nutrition is a serious topic, one that many manufacturers take lightly.  In
fact, consumers are lied to by some manufacturers on a daily basis.  Only
those consumers who actively seek information and knowledge and who use
their own good judgement can see through the lies.  I am not saying Mr.
Keen is lying, I am speaking in general terms here.  My only valid compaint
with Mr. Keen is that he is twisting my words for his own benefit and
completely without my permission.  I will not allow this to happen.  I have
written to Mr. Keen stating my position and demanding a retraction.  I will
take further action if necessary.
 
Tea McKinney was kind enough to post to the FML a few days ago some info on
Companion's Choice food.
 
>From:    "Tea` McKinney" <[log in to unmask]>
>The ingredients list is as follows: Fish meal, cornflour, chicken meal,
>tallow, zmegamore, egg powder, chicken digest, milk powder, premium
>vitamins & minerals, yeast, antioxidant, lysine, DL-methionine, taurine,
>yucca.
>
>Analysis:  Protein 38% min         Fat 21%
>           Fibre 3.5%              Moisture 6%
 
While I have not verified this information, nor have I seen or tested the
food myself, I can tell you that if this information is correct, what we
probably have here is just one more copy of a mink chow.  Mink and ferrets
are amazingly different..a fact many manufacturers overlook or choose to
ignore.
 
Though I could pick apart most of the ingredients on this list as not
appropriate or not the best for ferrets, I will only mention the two most
obvious.
 
1. "Fish meal" as the first ingredient.  While some small amouts of fish
oils are good sources of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, important for
skin and hair coat, and herring meal is helpful in balancing a food's
essential amino acid profile, you will find that in ferret foods that truly
are balanced and nutritious for ferrets, these ingredients are much farther
down on the ingredient list which means there are only small amounts of
these in the foods.  Fish meal at a main ingredient is a strong indicator
of a poor quality food for ferrets.  It is commonly used in mink chows and
may be more appropriate for them because mink are excellent fishers and
their diet is made up of at least 50 percent fish based upon my research of
mink in the wild.  Ferrets' closest wild relative, the Black-Footed Ferret
are "prarie dwelling" animals and their diets are composed primarily of
prarie dogs...a far cry from "fish".
 
2. "Fibre 3.5%" is far too high for ferrets.  We have already established
their inability to process fiber, in fact, it makes their digestive systems
work harder for no benefit to the ferret.  Based upon my research with
noted "animal nutrition experts", ferret foods should not contain more than
1.5% fiber.
 
The fact that corn (in the form of cornflower) is the second ingredient is
also a big warning sign!
 
Honestly, if this company "gave us" some of their foods to test on our
ferrets here at the shelter, if the ingriedients were listed on the package
as Tea listed them above, I'd probably return it or donate it to a cat
shelter instead of trying to force such a poor food on the kids here.  (The
ferrets here gag even at Marshall's Ferret Food when we occasionally have
small amounts of that donated, because they are so accustomed to a far
better diet designed for them, not for "fish eating mammals" like mink.)
 
Thanks for listening. Feel free to email me directly if you have further
questions.
 
Trish
Director, Ferrets First Rescue & Shelter
 
[Moderator's note: Companion's Choice has posted quite a bit recently (see
next post) and there posts sure do look a lot like ads.  There are ways to
post to give good information without directly pushing your own product.
In my experience, this builds trust and loyalty.  On the other hand, when
posts are filled with hype and little solid information people tend to
wonder what there is to hide.
 
I will start rejecting posts from Companion's Choice if they seem only
like a poorly disguised advertisement.  I've left today's post in since
this post is in response to the following one.
 
So, please, Companion's Choice: good info -- FACTS -- are more than welcome
and I encourage such posts.  Now's your chance...  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 3005]