9. Processed dry, extruded foods (kibbles) are nutritionally sound. FALSE. Proper nutrition is not just defined as having the proper nutrients necessary for a healthy life, but also having those nutrients supplied in proper amounts and proportions. For example, a food may exceed a ferret's calcium or phosphorus requirements, but if the RATIO of one to the other is off for an appreciable period, or during early growth, the result could be serious bone disease, such as osteoporosis or rickets. An additional example is zinc, which in trace amounts is an essential nutrient in all mammals. However, ferrets are very sensitive to zinc levels, and a food exceeding zinc nutrient requirements could easily poison a ferret. The argument dry, processed foods are nutritionally sound is dependent upon a single factor: the complete knowledge and understanding of ferret nutritional needs. That knowledge is not currently known, nor will be known for any appreciable period of time. It isn't known in humans, despite decades of concerted effort. Thus, any formulation postulated to fulfill a ferret's nutritional needs is, at best, an approximation. Call it a best guess. Kibble is a product designed to conveniently feed ferrets. It is dry, so it doesn't rot in the dish. Most formulations lack appreciable odor prior to consumption, as well as after elimination. Because kibble is made of powdered materials, if well mixed prior to extrusion, it guarantees each bite will have the same nutrition as the last (it makes me smile to watch herbalists insist on natural medicines because they distrust processed and purified drugs, yet pour the dietary equivalent into a dish and call it food!). Kibble is NOT a food designed for ferrets, but rather for the human who feeds the ferrets, who would rather not worry about feeding a ferret several times a day, who dislikes natural smells of foods or waste byproducts, and would rather not think about what a strict carnivore actually eats. We all need to understand kibble is a compromise between what the ferret needs and what the human owner wants. The single most important ingredient in kibble is the starchy carbohydrate that forms the bulk of the ingredients -- a necessary ingredient to make the kibble. Most kibbles are about 50% starch, some exceed 60%, and the best kibbles are about 40%. What this means is, even if you are feeding the best kibble on the market, you are still feeding a food that is about 40% carbohydrate, and carbohydrates are nothing but long chains of sugar. Would you feed your ferret a tablespoon of processed, white sugar? Why not? You feed the equivalent each time you pour kibble into your ferret's dish! A food is not nutritionally sound if it lack nutrients, nor if it has some nutrients in excess of needs. Clearly, dry, extruded kibble contains carbohydrates far in excess of a ferret's nutritional needs. We assume such overfeeding is harmless, but the consequences of such a diet is unknown in ferrets. However, recently published studies have shown a clear link between overfeeding starchy carbohydrates and pancreatic problems in humans, carnivores, and many rodents. While the exact disease mechanism is unknown, the correlation between pancreatic disease and excess carbohydrate in the diet have been confirmed. I know of two on-going studies that have preliminary data statistically linking a carbohydrate-rich diet to increased rates of insulinoma in ferrets (and other pancreatic disease in cats). The study has several years to go before it can be published (long term studies take a long time), but the preliminary data is statistically convincing. Regardless of published and ongoing studies, one thing is clear. As long as kibble is composed of carbohydrates in far excess of a ferret's nutritional needs, it is NOT a nutritionally sound food. Bob C [Posted in FML issue 3942]