Howdy:
I have a  few comments on recent postings.
 
1.
>From: "Charlie Cook" <[log in to unmask]>
>for the IAMS has lots of chicken by-products etc. at the top, whereas
>the Kay-Tee stuff has a lot of ground corn and fish meal.
 
-My advice: get a new vet.  This guy does not know his nutrition very well
(or perhaps he does?), and he apparently is using a scare tactic to line
his pockets.  You are absolutely correct that Iams is a very good food, as
is Science diet (and others).  One important reason for this is that these
foods rely heavily on animal rather than plant protein sources.  The
nutritional quality of animal protein is indeed superior to that of plant
protein, particularly for a carnivore such as a ferret.  The use of animal
rather than plant protein is also a major contributing factor to the
relatively high cost of Iams and Science Diet.
 
2.
>From: [log in to unmask]
>or something.  My 8 month old female sable lost a considerable amount of fur
>and is now considerably lighter than she used to be (she's now grey) but the
>loss is only around her head.  My boyfriend and I were away Thursday night
>and when we returned home on Friday evening, Mike went to check on the "kids"
>The fur on Peppy's head was really short and greyish white.
 
-If you are suggesting that the hair dropped out and turned color in one
night, then I would be worried.  However, if it was sort of gradual but you
just happened to notice it after being away fo a night, then I might not be
overly concerned.  Our silver mitt goes through some dramatic seasonal
shedding, after which she emerges looking completely unlike what she did a
few months earlier.  We do notice the shedding (note to fly fisherpeople:
the underfur makes great nymph dubbing), but often do not notice the
significant color differences until we look at an old picture.  Often as
the new hair is growing in, it seems particularly obvious around the head
because this hair is pretty short.  We also notice that on our sable, grey
color can show up on her head.  This generally disappears in a month or so
when new dark underfur grows in.
 
Ciao - DAVE and "the girls"
 
[Posted in FML issue 0717]