Stef asked about Lactose:
>Everybody knows that it isn't to good to give dairy products in large
>amounts to ferrets due to their lactose intolerance, but where do you
>draw the line?  One lick..., two..., a teaspoon full,...
 
Some ferrets are *very* lactose intolerant and some are only slightly
intolerant.  I give mine small peices of cheese (hard cheese contains
less lactose than milk) as a treat sometimes, and rarely (when I want to
*really* reward them) I give a teaspoon of milk or cream for the three to
go crazy over.  Mine are used to small amounts and has never had the runs
because of it.  (They have gotten it over raisins though.) :)
 
>On top of that, sometimes you read about the use of whipping cream and
>heavy cream as a last resort to trick a ferret to eat at least something.
>(is there actually a difference?  I'm sorry if I sound stupid but since
>English differs a lot from Dutch I do the best I can. :o) )
 
As I understand it, (English not being my native language) whipping cream
and heavy cream are similar if not the same.  There are several dairy
products all over the world with varying degrees of fat in them.  A
simple rule of thumb is, the fatter it is, the less lactose it contains.
 
>Even in the recepies of "ducksoup" sometimes dairy products are used.
 
I have a friend that is lactose intolerant and I think she once said that
"cooked" food that contains dairy product is easier to digest than the
dairy by itself.  I don't know the amount in the receipt you are thinking
of, but the amount of dairy in *each portion* might not be very much.
 
Millan
Ozzy (Ah, cheese, almost as good as raisins.)
Obelix (Cheese? Where? Where?)
Phoebe (Get away you bullies! Give ME all the cheese!)
[Posted in FML issue 2704]