Sukie wrote: >The frustrating part is when people who feed raw refuse to accept >that side of their choice even when past vet posts are provided >illustrating how hard the diseases can be to treat and that the vets >who wrote those posts do have experience with such infections. LOL I get TWICE as frustrated when reading, Every DAY on EVERY list that I am on, how kibble-fed ferrets DIE (or need very costly and painful medical and/or surgical intervention) of insulinoma, adrenal disease, hairball blockage, bedding material blockage, ulcers, kidney, heart and liver disease caused by periodontal disease and IBD. All of these complaints are RARELY seen in naturally fed ferrets, and even then, not until they are reaching old age. Neither have I ever come across a ferret dying or becoming ill because of a natural diet. The 3 vets, with whom I am most closely associated, have little time to work on studies or make their findings known on the internet. Nevertheless, their observations and findings are considered to be valid by me. It all boils down to keeping it all in perspective. While, initially, a natural diet seemed more expensive to me, the savings in vet bills and pain to the ferrets put me and my ferrets way in front in the long run. And just as a reminder: A natural (or species appropriate) diet does not include ground, cooked, plant material-added, or otherwise tampered-with food. It means small whole prey (the safest and best) or a "prey model" consisting of raw meaty bones of a suitable size with ocasional offal. If you are a "germophobe", heck, pour boiling water over the raw meaty bones before you serve them to your ferrets. This will probably make you feel better, but is not really necessary. I'm suddenly hungry, Shirley PS I agree with Sukie that the emphasis should be removed from *longevity* to *wellness during life* !!!! PPS I DARE you to get me started on the cruelty of CAGING ferrets. :-) [Moderator's note: Umm, no, not yet please! It IS time to wind down the food debate though now mostly the same people are exchanging pretty much already posted opinions... only THEN we can approach the next heated debate ;-) BIG] [Posted in FML 5430]