On Fri, 6 Jan 1995 02:18:20 EST Jill A. Kaszynski said:
>Someone recently spoke highly of the Totally Ferret ferret food on the list.
>Have other people had good experiences with it? Do you think it's better than
>the premium kitten foods?
 
Who knows?  The makers of Totally Ferret (Performance Foods) have been really
pushing the product but have not published any research to back up their
claims.  They were allowed to speak during a dinner break at an exotic animal
conference but only if they presented their research as uncontrolled and
unsubstantiated.  And, in fact, I understand that not much "research" was
actually presented.  And while I'm at it, let it be known that I spoke to the
president of Performance Foods, Dr. Tom Willard, several times both in person
and online.  My *personal* opinion is that he's a walking ad with very little
substantial to say. And I seriously question the claims made.
 
*But*... I do know that some research was actually performed.  Blood of some
"volunteered" ferrets was indeed drawn, for example.  And some people report
excellent results with the food.  And the AFA endorses it. (Yeah, the same
AFA that lets vendors sell cedar chips at ferret shows.)
 
My ferrets don't particularly like it anyhow, nor do I like using it anyhow,
since it seems to crumble very easily.  Look, if your fuzzies like it and do
well on it, then your question is answered.  I give a half dozen or so high
quality different foods, including Totally Ferret (which is seldom eaten),
and let *them* decide what to eat.  They do seem to change their tastes often.
 
If you want a free sample or would like to purchase a bag, Totally Ferret is
no longer on the FML but can probably can still be reached by phone.  They
are based in Dayton, OH and used to send out samples on request.
 
Bill
[Posted in FML issue 1067]