Dr Willard mentions the recent research at the U of Georgia on chronic
kidney failure.  I think he is referring to Dr Brown, Dr Finco and others.
They concluded that lowering the protein amount does not benefit the
kidney, but it is good to do to when there are signs of uremia (lethargy,
vomiting, anorexia, etc).  In dogs, this is roughly when the BUN exceeds
75 mg/dL.  Some of the other things they suggested included lowering the
phosphorus amount to actually slow the progression of the disease, increase
the amount of omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil) to decrease intrarenal blood
pressure, treat acidosis with potassium citrate, and to increase the amount
of fermentable fiber.  This led to the Eukanuba Veterinary Diet kidney
diet.  Except for the higher fiber, these suggestions are probably good
for ferrets with chronic kidney failure, also.  Dr Willard, can these be
incorporated into a ferret "kidney diet" or into your Totally Ferret for
older ferrets?
 
Jerry Murray, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3371]