Roger and fuzzies, I honestly didn't mean to start a thread of "Attack and Defend Bob C." My intent was simply to point out that derogatory remarks are not conducive to objective discussion. I observed silently a recent thread in which Mr. Church participated and I witnessed the posts degenerate into him maligning and insulting the second party (who, I might add, remained dignified and respectful throughout). Unfortunately, much useful knowledge was lost because of nothing more than his evident inability to refute an argument without becoming abusive. I was hoping a repeat of that incident could be avoided this time. Bob Church has a wealth of knowledge that we could all benefit from, if only he knew how to share it instructively instead of destructively. Since you felt the need to defend his tone, however, please allow me to point out the flaws in your argument. :) You stated, "Shoot, *I* lack the disciple to feed my ferrets entirely on homemade foods. And I'm mature enough to admit it and not be insulted by the statement. That does not mean I lack the intelligence or the ability[.]" This is true, BUT (and it's a big BUT lol) you left out the rest of Bob's comment ("or perhaps the basic ability, to safely maintain their ferrets on a homemade diet") which DOES in fact flat-out state exactly what you said it did NOT imply. Furthermore, you completely ignored the second comment of his that I found to be inflammatory rather than objective. Why is that? Could it be that his statement, "As far as I am concerned, if you can't have your preconceptions challenged without getting angry, you are too immature to debate anyway" was such an inflammatory comment that you couldn't bring yourself to call me "touchy" for objecting to it? What you did was use partial quotes out of context to make a point. Unfortunately, you also seem to have entirely missed MY point; "DEROGATORY REMARKS ARE NOT CONDUCIVE TO OBJECTIVE DISCUSSION." I was not offended, nor did I take personally, what Bob said. I am simply VERY interested in learning more about the topic and feel that a MUTUALLY RESPECTFUL atmosphere is the best environment for an open, honest dialogue. As a matter of fact, I began acclimating my own ferrets to live feeding months ago, as evidence from other sources convinced me it's worth the effort. So far, I have one ferret who eats nothing but homemade food, three who eat raw meat as well as kibble (credit this to the wonderful shelter they came from, not my own accomplishment), one who will kill and stash mice but won't eat them, and five who would rather starve than eat anything other than kibble (stubborn little cusses lol). Admittedly not a total success, yet I feel we are making progress towards the goals of a healthier diet and more natural lifestyle. Ok, I'm done beating the poor dead horse LOL. Thank you for taking the time to express your opinion and listen to mine. Please feel free to email me privately if you wish to continue this discussion. Joli [Posted in FML issue 3946]