45% should be fine for most ferrets, but not for one who has had cystine stones in his or her history. If there is a past of cystine stones in your ferret or that ferret's relatives avoid such a high protein food which other ferrets can eat. We are among the FML members who have ferrets who have had to have cystine stone surgery whose ferrets do wonderfully on about 35% protein but not higher. There are two cases that I have read (one in a journal article of Dr. Mike Dutton, and then an FHL member whose ferret was treated by Dr. Tom Kawasaki) who needed the meds for this instead of just dietary management. Dr. Michelle Hawkins of UC Davis is currently leading a study team looking into the recent increased numbers of ferret cystine stones seen so here is some info to pass on to all ferret vets for their files: 2108 Tupper Hall, University of CA, Davis, CA 95616, 1-530-752-1363 (phone), [log in to unmask] I have been told that new formulation is very low fat and that could be a potential problem for ferrets. (For those who do not know 8 in 1 was at first a small company, then was purchased and combined with several other companies, then rebought by the original owners and resold. These days it is part of the Rayovac conglomerate and the 8 in 1 section itself has 300 employees and an absolutely huge number of products (some of which appear to more be inappropriate relabelling than anything else -- for instance some of the ferret treats would be fine for some other types of animals but pose health risks for ferrets -- and it is certainly not the only company to just relabel things that are unsuited to ferret health as being "ferret products" now that the industry is so very aware that the ferret and ferret care industries add up to 2 billion (with a "B") of the $32 Billion annual pet and pet care economy in the U.S. as per Ken Wells of the Wall Street Journal). Heck, there are budding pet stores and pet product makers all over the place with ferret products (or "ferret products" in some cases), some inventive and wonderful, some scary, and some a mixture; even some shelters and past shelter locations carry anywhere from dozens to hundreds of product items making the few with a huge number of products actual pet stores in my personal perception at least -- just from knowing how very much time sales, shipping, and inventory control take once there are hundreds or more items for sale since I have a retail management background. Of course, computerization used well must greatly reduce the work involved for the retail needs. I was in retail management back in the more hands-on days before computers became wide-spread, so that what would once have been a full time job would take much less time than my old-timer's mind-set lets me at first realize. Yeah, I am an old fart.) Anyway, it is a "Buyer Beware" market; I wish I could recall the Latin phrase, but it slips my mind. Anyone here want to post it? [Caveat Emptor!] Read, inquire, look things up, don't take statements at face value, suit your purchases to the needs of your individuals as best as possible, and participate in the multi-prong effort to get rid of bad products. I do NOT want to leave you feeling helpless or lost, though, because there is less and less reason to feel that way. For years and years (and years and years and years) we all tried working with just ferret owner education, writing to manufacturers, and teaching those in pet stores when possible. Progress was virtually non-existent then (except for a few cases where death or great expenses occurred and law suits were filed or threatened) but all that has changed recently because the corporate vets and owners of some store chains have developed an interest in dropping dangerous products, or in trying to get the manufacturers to stop making them, or both. PetSmart and the Ferret Depot have really led the way in this regard. PetSmart was the first to begin removing bad products and has made a commitment to continue. The Ferret Depot has already begun removing such items. Meanwhile, the corporate vet at Petco is trying to convince the business people there to follow suit. Trying a different approach, TFS is going with an education effort that doesn't involve removing products at this stage but instead involves talks with manufacturers and an on-going labeling effort to try to educate consumers. So, anyway, now that progress has suddenly happened in such a pronounced way after such a long, long, long time where there was almost no progress at all because the other parts of the effort simply did not have a "big stick" we all have progress to celebrate and this means that the market is becoming over time less and less a "Buyer Beware" situation as people who are involved in any of the ways to tackle this problem now have voices which are heard so very much more. Yes, we all finally have things to celebrate! Sukie (24 years of watching things change for ferrets) [Posted in FML issue 4900]