Ed Lipinski wrote:
>The meaning of the tag, obligate carnivore, can be defined as an
>animal that eats meaty substances and is not obligated to eat other
>foods, due mainly to its life style, its habitat, and the ease of
>procuring its primary meaty food. One definition emphasizes the wild
>ferret's lock into meaty substances by decrying the lack of a
>nutritional enzyme capable of digesting and assimilating a raw carrot.

Actually, Ed, the term obligate carnivore means that ferret is
obligated to eat animal protein and fat to get the nutrients needed
to survive. Here are several links that explain the term obligate
carnivore.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1077614/obligate-carnivore -
this link contains the following:
>Some carnivores, particularly cats (family Felidae), are obligate
>carnivores, meaning they cannot obtain all the nutrients that they
>need from the plant kingdom and bacteria. In particular, obligate
>carnivores lack the enzyme needed to split carotene, obtained from
>plants, into vitamin A. Instead, these animals obtain vitamin A from
>the liver of their prey. Obligate carnivores are similarly unable to
>synthesize some essential very-long-chain, highly unsaturated fatty
>acids that other animals can make from shorter fatty acids found in
>plants.
    
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnivore - which contians:
>An obligate or true carnivore is an animal that must eat meat in order
>to survive.[1] >They may consume other products presented to them,
>especially animal products like eggs and bone marrow or sweet sugary
>substances like honey and syrup, but, as these items are not
>essential, they do not consume these on a regular basis. True
>carnivores lack the physiology required for the efficient digestion of
>vegetable matter, and, in fact, some carnivorous mammals eat
>vegetation specifically as an emetic. The domestic cat is a prime
>example of an obligate carnivore, as are all of the other felids.[2]

http://cats.about.com/od/catfoodglossary/g/obligcarnivore.htm - 
which says:
>An obligate carnivore is an animal that by its genetic makeup must eat
>the tissue of other animals in order to thrive. Obligate carnivores
>may eat other foods, such as vegetables, grains, or fruit, but they
>must eat meat as the main source of their nutrients.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obligate_carnivore - which contains:
>An animal that necessarily subsists on a diet consisting mainly of
>meat, because it does not possess the physiology to digest vegetable
>matter. Such animals mayconsume other materials {vegetable or mineral)
>for non-nutritional purposes.

And,
http://www.allwords.com/word-obligate+carnivore.html - which says:
>Also known as a true carnivore, an obligate carnivore is an animal
>that subsists on a diet consisting only of meat. They do not possess
>the physiology to digest vegetable matter. Such animals may consume
>other products but do not require them. See wikipedia:carnivore.

Ferrets may be able to eat plant matter, but they likely get little
nutritional value from them.

Additionally, plant proteins are a known cause for bladder stones in
the ferret. This is documented in Fox's Biology and Diseases of the
Ferret, and is also mentioned in Dr. Susan Brown's online article,
Rethinking the Ferret Diet.

Dr. Brown has the following to say:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=479&S=1&SourceID=33

>Because of the short GI tract and the poor absorption of nutrients,
>ferrets require a diet that is highly concentrated with FAT as the
>main source of calories (energy) and highly digestible MEAT-BASED
>PROTEIN. This would match the basic composition of a prey animal
>not excluding the essential vitamins and minerals it also contains.
>Ferrets should never be fed carbohydrates (such as vegetable, fruit
>or grains) as the main source of energy in the diet. Ferrets cannot
>digest fiber, as is found in some vegetable and fruit sources. If
>there is a significant amount of fiber in the diet it serves to lower
>the nutritional value of the food. As mentioned, ferrets need a highly
>digestible meat-based protein in the diet. Vegetable protein is poorly
>utilized. In the presence of excess vegetable protein the ferret can
>suffer from such diseases as bladder stones, poor coat and skin
>quality, eosinophilic gastroenteritis (wasting, diarrhea, ulcerations
>of the skin and ear tips and swollen feet) poor growth of kits and
>decreased reproduction. Dog food and vegetarian-type pet foods are
>completely inappropriate for use in ferrets because of the high level
>of vegetable protein and fiber. The bottom line is that ferrets use
>fat for energy not carbohydrates and they need a highly digestible
>meat-based protein not vegetable protein.

In the same article, she also says,

>Another concern regarding the feeding of high carbohydrate foods to
>ferrets is the stress that may be created in the beta cells of the
>pancreas. Unfortunately, insulinoma, which is a cancer of the beta
>cells, is extremely common in ferrets over two years of age in the
>U.S. The main function of the beta cell is to respond to increases
>in glucose in the blood stream by producing insulin to control it.
>If normal beta cells are bombarded with higher than normal levels of
>glucose (which comes from carbohydrates) they can become hypertrophied
>(overactive) trying to keep up with insulin demand. If the high
>carbohydrate diet continues, the result may be a complete burnout of
>the cells, which is what happens when a pet or a person develops
>diet-induced diabetes. However, another possibility is that instead of
>the cells burning out, they go from hypertrophy to neoplasia (cancer).
>Neoplasia is an abnormal growth of cells and can be preceded by a
>hyperplastic condition. I would like to stress that this exact
>mechanism has not been scientifically proven in ferrets to date, but
>the scenario is entirely within the realm of possibility. It has been
>disturbing to note that over the years in countries where ferrets were
>fed a raw carnivore-type diet insulinoma was a rare occurrence but now
>in these same countries where processed diets are becoming >popular,
>cases of insulinoma are on the rise. Regardless, do we need to be
>feeding our ferrets diets laced with inappropriate materials?

Danee DeVore
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit:
http://www.ferretadv.com
ADV - Find out how you can help:
http://help4adv.terrabox.com/

[Posted in FML 6291]