From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2001-07-08 14:31:00 UTC
Subject: Re: question on Bob Church's food suggestion
>I was on the web checking things out and i found some things by Bob
>Church.. is cartilage really a good thing? or pig ears?
>
>CARTILAGE: The ends of chicken bones, pig or beef ears, etc., are
>all made of cartilage, which is often used as a homopathic remedy
>for joint pain. I am personally convinced that one of the reasons
>ferrets love to chew on rubber and crunchy veggies is because they
>have a sort of cartilage texture and chewiness. Lots of carnivores
>(and people) *love* chewing of rubbery or crunchy things, and
>cartilage fits the bill. There is a ferret product designed to fill
>this need, but I personally find it expensive, so I subsitute piggie
>ears (for doggies). I just soak them until soft and cut them into
>strips. Providing this type of chewing pleasure, as well as bones,
>has almost completely eliminated rubber and cord chewing in my
>house, even from Ballistic who would chew the heels off your shoes
>while you were wearing them. Cartilage is mostly protein, low fat,
>but as a treat, it is excellent.
Giving cartilage has been tested starting a good long while ago in
standard med after it showed in preliminary studies to warrant better
testing after improvements were seen in some people with rheumatoid
arthritis and to a lesser extent with osteoarthritis. Shark
cartilage did not offer any benefits beyond those found in chicken
cartilage and using the chicken source is more ecologically sound. I
do mot know when those studies will be done and don't know if I still
have the announcement about it after the preliminary work was done.
Guess we'll all know whenever we know.
Remember to NOT give a DRIED cartilage source unless you soften and
hydrate it well. Ferrets can get blockages from dried cartilage.
What the situation will be for ferrets is likely still up in the air
for a while.