From:
Betty
Date: 2002-06-03 20:27:00 UTC
Subject: Re: The Food Issue
Hi Caity,
Many people will have varying opinions and none are right or wrong. As
my original post stated, I will continue to feed my ferrets the high
quality ferret food and the barf diet. I'm not against it one bit. But
you would have to answer my question as to why ferret seem to have more
bowel disorders than before... Ask your vet that too. I would be very
interested to hear how long he has been treating ferrets and the kinds
of illnesses he has seen during his term. This is important information
to share.
Depending on where you live in the world will also play a factor. Some
areas are more prone to certain illnesses. Vets in those areas are going
to see more of one thing than another. Water quality plays a big factor
too. As does how close you live to Chernobyl!! Pollution, crowding, poor
breeding, methods of treatment... all of them play a factor... the
question is, how much does each factor play? No one will be able to
answer that until properly monitored scientific studies can be made, but
I just don't think the money is there for that kind of grand project.
Food manufacturers would have to agree to play a part in the study, and
perhaps fund it themselves. It is but one option....
What I am saying is, when us long time ferret owners fed nothing but cat
and kitten foods, we didn't see all the types of illnesses we see today.
If you ask a vet who has treated ferrets for 20 years you will find that
they also have a thing or two to say about diet. Diet is only one small
factor in a whole big picture... Look at how people keep ferrets
nowadays... I think more are caged than ever before. But then again,
there are far more ferrets in people's homes than there were 20 years
ago too. More ferrets are being bred for colour distinction and coat and
size... not something we saw 20 years ago. Ferrets were early neutered
back then, and they are still being neutered early now. So what is the
difference?
Ferrets did get sick back then, but the illnesses were different. Ferret
diseases have certainly, what's the word... mutated or something. Food
is but one piece of the pie, and we have a long, long way to go before
we put all of our eggs into one basket. All factors must be
considered... at this point, I'll tend to agree with my vet, as I'm sure
you'll continue to agree with yours... and there's no harm in that!
betty and her blur o'fur
for the love of ferrets