I have tried to keep it 'light' in this quagmire of natural-kibble "discussion", but some seem to want to attack this one & that one, whenever the mood strikes them! DANEE said,"......But since some 'new' turns in the 'debate' have come about, I find cause to jump back into the 'discussion' "???? I simply asked to see this "groundswelling" that was mentioned in regard to dogs & cats!... To begin with, Danee, this is a FERRET LIST, and a debate, as some like to call it, is not warranted here! I simply mentioned a "Quote" someone made about 'natural' for dogs & cats....My ground hasn`t swelled!... No Farms in Virginia??...I doubt that...maybe not in your neighborhood... New Jersey is made up of farms, not as many as before, maybe we`ve become the "Garden State", as it says on our license plates! I would love to live on 5 acres or so! It doesn`t matter....You went on & on about 'when dogs & cats' were first fed kibble.....WHO CARES???!!... We`re talking about ferrets here, and an occasional O T post! In the late `60`s & early `70`s, my Father had a good friend who ran a MINK farm,(not a kennel), and they were fed ONLY those little pellet shaped kibble. I think I have a few years on you, judging by your 'jumping' down other people`s throats,...when only my one statement was made, and 'jokingly', if you had bothered to quote my whole statement! ("only my waist is swelling"). Then you said, 'Let`s move off of ferrets' for a moment....and VOILA!!!...We are reading about "processed foods" for us HUMANS, when it was made available, bad for us,.....and everything else NOT about ferrets, AGAIN! Is there anything you cannot find fault with here on the fml? You said, "The above is meant as food for thought",....well, I, for one, am not swallowing it! I suggest you join a chat room, if you want to keep criticizing everyone!, if you don`t already belong to one. I have but one word for you in regard to your dog & cat natural "debate",....BARF. Dooks to almost all, John Rich & the n.j. gang, USA. john rich <[log in to unmask]> [Moderator's note: I can't agree that a debate is not warranted on the FML. As long as it's on-topic and not all-out nasty, we can all learn from a debate. In some ways, it IS on topic to make comparisons with feeding of other companion animals -- heck, many people still feed ferrets cat food, and by some definitions, mice etc. are food for cats, dogs AND ferrets. BIG] [Posted in FML issue 5209]