Julie Brown wrote: >This looks great on paper- I can hardly wait to try it. Buying some >tonight! After looking over all the information on it, it may not be as good as it sounds. While the first formula has meat sources as its first 3 ingredients, the fourth item is vegetable protein. Vegetable protein is every bit as bad for ferrets as starches. Vegetable protein is a known cause of some types of bladder and kidney stones in ferrets. Before trying this food, I would definitely want to know what percentage of the 60% protein comes from vegetable protein. The ferret's digestive tract is not built to digest plant matter well. So, if even 20% of that 60% protein is from plant matter, the available protein content for a ferret is actually much lower. Also, the fat content is only 11%. That may be fine for cats and dogs, but ferrets need a much higher fat content. I try to use foods where the fat content is 20% or higher. Here is an excerpt from Dr. Susan Brown's online article, Rethinking the Ferret Diet. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=479&S=1&SourceID=43 >Because of the short GI tract and the poor absorption of nutrients, >ferrets require a diet that is highly concentrated with FAT as the >main source of calories (energy) and highly digestible MEAT-BASED >PROTEIN. This would match the basic composition of a prey animal not >excluding the essential vitamins and minerals it also contains. >Ferrets should never be fed carbohydrates (such as vegetable, fruit >or grains) as the main source of energy in the diet. Ferrets cannot >digest fiber, as is found in some vegetable and fruit sources. If >there is a significant amount of fiber in the diet it serves to lower >the nutritional value of the food. As mentioned, ferrets need a highly >digestible meat-based protein in the diet. Vegetable protein is poorly >utilized. In the presence of excess vegetable protein the ferret can >suffer from such diseases as bladder stones, poor coat and skin >quality, eosinophilic gastroenteritis (wasting, diarrhea, ulcerations >of the skin and ear tips and swollen feet) poor growth of kits and >decreased reproduction. Dog food and vegetarian-type pet foods are >completely inappropriate for use in ferrets because of the high level >of vegetable protein and fiber. The bottom line is that ferrets use >fat for energy not carbohydrates and they need a highly digestible >meat-based protein not vegetable protein. Finally, if the protein content is 60%, and the fat content is 11%, what is the missing 29%. Could it be carbohydrates? Starch is a carbohydrate, but not the only carbohydrate. If the missing 29% is carbohydrate, that is pretty high. Given this, I (personally) would opt for a food like EVO Ferret or Cat, where the protein level is only 50.2% and the fat is 22.53%. This will actually have a slightly lower carbohydrate percentage, Plus, EVO claims that 95% of the protein comes from animal sources - and so is a much healthier food for an obligate carnivore like a ferret. Danee DeVore ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know! For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com ADV - Find out how you can help: http://help4adv.terrabox.com/ [Posted in FML 6770]