Hello! I just have a few quick questions for a ferret owner I have been conversing with from Ireland. From what I understand from her, from where she lives in Ireland, ferrets are not considered pets so much as hunters. She also has very little access to ferret care info. (She was feeding her ferret bread and milk, its what everyone around her feeds ferrets) I have pointed her to the faq on the internet, and given her suggestions for a better diet, but she had a few questions I was unable to answer. If a 'working' female ferret is spayed, does it change her hunting ability at all? I know male ferrets are much more aggresive around other male ferrets when whole, but I didn't know if hunting abilities and instints were also affected by neutering, and how a female is affected. She doesn't want to have to breed her ferret every year, but doesn't want a 'useless' ferret either. Her parents consider the ferret a working animal, not a pet, and would probably get rid of it if it was unable to work. Also, if there is anyone from Ireland on this list, could you let me know what there is available in terms of good ferret nutrition and vitamins? She went looking for cat/kitten food, but could only find foods that had 'cereals' listed as the first ingredient. She also mentioned a vitamin called VitaPet, has anyone ever heard of that? Is it similar to Linatone or Nutri-cal? One more thing, does anyone have a "simple" homemade recipie for ferret food that is easy to make and stores easily? I sent her Bob C.'s chicken gravy recipie, but I seem to recall reading about a shelter in Australia (I think) that feeds something called LUMPS? Is that relatively easy to make? She needs something that she can put in the ferret's cage outside and not have to worry about it spoiling during the day. Please send any responses to [log in to unmask] as I do not always have time to read the fml. Thank you! Dooks and kisses to your fuzzies, Shelley Knudsen Pre-Veterinary Student UNK Legion of Superferrets of Nebraska Ferret Shelter [log in to unmask] http://www.tcgcs.com/~ferrets 402-463-0190 402-461-6541 fax: 253-981-1054 --------------------------------------- To see how you can help raise money for our shelter without spending a penny, please visit: http://www.igive.com/html/ssi.cfm?CID=1456&MID=4888 [Posted in FML issue 2892]