I am writing to clarify a few points. I am a long time client of Dr. Kawasaki's, and also sat at his table at the St. Louis Symposium and heard his talk on Raisin Toxicity. Dr. Kawasaki has been a ferret lover and has specialized in ferret medicine for as long as he has been in veterinary practice, which is over 25 years. Although he is not one to go out and 'toot his horn', he was one of the vets that pioneered many of the ferret surgeries that we take for granted today, like insulinoma and adrenal surgery. In the early years, he did write papers and publish them, and I am sure that many vets who have learned about ferret medicine are familiar with some of his work. He has also been cited in some of the early ferret care books, like the second book by Wendy Winstead. Additionally, he provided Antech Labs with many of the normal ferret blood values they currently use. As a client, I know that Dr. Kawasaki has believed that raisins are not a good treat for ferrets for many years. He holds this view for several reasons. First and foremost is the high sugar content. About 15 years ago, he convinced me to stop using raisins and other sugary items as treats, and the rate of insulinomas in my ferrets was greatly reduced. Where previously all of my ferrets eventually got insulinoma, now only about 15% develop the problem. This is not scientific proof by any means, but it is certainly anecdotal evidence, and is enough to convince me that sugary treats are bad. Now, as to raisin toxicity - even before the ASPCA's Poison Control Center had issued any warning about raisins being a possible problem for canines, Dr. K had noticed a problem in ferrets who managed to eat a volume of raisins. He had several cases of young and healthy ferrets suddenly develop kidney failure and die, and when he questioned the owners about what the ferret might have gotten into, in each case the only thing the owner could think of was that the ferret had managed to get a box of raisins and eat an unknown, but probably large number of raisins. Again, this is not scientific proof, but is anecdotal evidence that consuming a large number of raisins at one time could prove fatal for ferrets. And, this anecdotal evidence is certainly enough for me to decide that my ferrets do not need to learn to eat raisins. Since first noticing the problem, Dr. K. has reported his finding to the ASPCA's Poison Control Center. Unfortunately, the ASPCA has not made this information publicly available. There has been additional research done on the problem in dogs, though, and apparently a group of vets was able to come up with an amount that would likely be a problem, based on the weight of the animal. Using that as a guideline, Dr. K. determined that as few as 7 or 8 raisins or grapes consumed at one time could ba a problem for a ferret. Again, this is not scientifically proven, but do you really want to take a chance with your ferret? Dr. Kawasaki hosted a Table Topic on Seldom Discussed Ferret Medical Problems at the St. Louis Symposium, and one of the things he presented as a part of this topic was the possibility of raisin toxicity. Additionally, he provided a handout with the information on this. Will Dr. Kawasaki do the scientific research necessary to prove his belief that raisins can be toxic to ferrets? It is highly unlikely. A practicing vet does not have the facilities to do that kind of research, and it would require poisoning a large number of ferrets, something that is against his nature. Will he present the information to others? He already has. In addition to speaking about it at the Symposium, he has also discussed it with other vets in out local area. Will he take it further - I don't know. He has a busy practice, and also tries to have a life outside of veterinary medicine. Preparing a paper and getting it published all take time. The bottom line for me is, why take unnecessary risks. Raisins are not part of a natural diet for ferrets, and they offer no nutritional value for ferrets. So, why would I even want to use them as treats. My kids are much happier with a spoonful of Turkey baby food as a treat, and that is just fine with me. -- Danee DeVore International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator http://www.ferretcongress.org ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know! For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com You can help fight ADV! Visit: http://help4adv.terrabox.com/ [Posted in FML issue 5189]