Mike - Totally Ferret is not a rip off - if it is local, a 5 pound bag runs closer to $12.00. Yes, that is expensive, but let me tell you why. Mink food is for quick growing and lush coats. It is not for longetivity. A ferret can live on mink diet as well as it can live on cheap cat food. What you see in your ferrets are exterior enhancements, but speak nothing on interior maintanance. Mixing mink diet with a quality cat or ferret food is fine, but I would not feed mink diet alone. When compared to other high quality cat foods, Totally Ferret is not that far off. I am in Northern VA: Totally Ferret - 20 pound bag = $36.00 $1.80/pound Innova Feline - 16 pound bag = $23.00 $1.43/pound Iams Cat - 20 pound bag = $23.00 $1.15/pound Mazuri Ferret diet - 25 pound bag = $25.00 $1.00/pound I can't find a receipt for the 20 pound bag of 8 in 1 Ferret Diet. Totally Ferret uses all natural preservatives (a bit more expensive), has been tested on ferrets in all life stages and for breeding and kits, and this is all they make, in a very specilized market. I know that one needs to order National Mink Diet in pallets, and it is uneconomical for the average ferret owner. And I would not buy bags from some individuals due to the way they store it, not to mention how the product is made (all those chemicals). The STAR* Ferret Diet analysis is formatted in an Excel Spreadsheet. It is going to the printers on Tuesday. I have included 25 different ferret and feline diets for consumer review. To receive a food chart, send a SASE marked FOOD CHART to STAR* Ferrets. If you want to get the nutritional text along with it, subscribe to STAR* Ferrets because it will appear in the June 96 issue. Hopefully, I can get it uploaded to my Web site this Summer. Check out STAR*'s Web page through http://ferret-world.csc.peachnet.edu or... For more info on *Shelters That Adopt & Rescue Ferrets, and to receive a listing of ferret shelters, contacts, vets, supplies, clubs, etc. in your state, send a LONG self addressed stamped envelope to: STAR* Ferrets PO Box 1714 Springfield, VA 22151-0714 Information helps all ferrets and owners. This is NOT just for shelters only! Pam Grant, Director [Posted in FML issue 1576]