From:
Pam Sessoms
Date: 2003-04-12 17:15:26 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE: Hypoallergenic Diet
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <Pine.A41.4.44+UNC.0304121119090.29510-100000@login1.isis.unc.edu>
> Please, please ask your vet about the FELINE z/d. The canine z/d simply
> does not provide a proper diet for ferrets.
I'm not Karen, but I have followed her ferret's case since the beginning.
Rinkydink's eosinophilic enteritis was particularly bad, and in fact, the
feline z/d was tried. A great many other foods often used in EE were
tried as well. However, none were tolerated in her case. I know that the
feline z/d has worked great for many ferrets with EE, though, and of
course it is a better nutritional match. The feline z/d is low-allergen
but not allergen free like the Canine Ultra - this has to do with Hill's
hydrolyzed protein system. So far, there is not an allergen-free feline
z/d.
Rinkydink's diet is supplemented with ham baby food, so that helps bump up
the protein. Clearly, this was an extreme case, but in this case, the z/d
canine with supplementation has been life-saving. She's been on the diet
for about 2 years with great results now, if memory serves.
The taurine question is a good one and has been considered. It's really
interesting... James Fox's book does not list taurine in the nutrition
section, and I have not been able to find a concrete listing for a
ferret's taurine requirements. Taurine is plentiful in meat, and ferrets
are obligate carnivores, so it seems logical that they do need it. Why
it's not addressed directly in the nutrition chapter of that book is a big
mystery to me, since this is known to be such an important nutrient for
cats, another obligate carnivore. Assuming ferrets do need it, the
question is, how much do they need? Taurine is usually mentioned in
association with hearts and eyes.
About eyes - Dr. Kawasaki did publish an article about retinal
atrophy/degeneration where he fed ferrets a taurine-free diet for awhile.
He noted retinal changes within a fairly short time and then quickly put
them back on a diet including taurine. That would indicate that ferrets
do need some taurine for retinal health.
About hearts - cats are known to get cardiomyopathy if they don't get
enough taurine. That's one of the reasons it was originally added to
processed cat food. James Fox's book has a very interesting passage in
the section about cardiomyopathy. I don't have the book here and so I
can't quote it exactly, but it comes down to the idea that ferrets
probably don't have the same high requirement for taurine specifically for
heart health that cats do. Cats waste a lot of taurine through a process
for bile conjugation, while ferrets are able to use another compound for
this (glycine). Cats can't use glycine for this, and so they need taurine
for it.
There are some posts about taurine, including one from Bob Church, in the
FML archives. Last time I checked, the jury was still pretty much out on
an exact taurine requirement for ferrets.
One thing I'd like to know is what temperature destroys taurine in meat
while cooking. I make my ferrets' gravy in a pressure cooker, which means
that while the overall cooking time is decreased, it is cooked at a fairly
high temperature. I have found that taurine melts at 300 degrees
farenheight, but I don't know if that is the same temp at which it is
effectively destroyed. A chemistry grad student told me that generally,
the melting temp is lower than the temp for denaturization. In any case,
I supplement my ferrets' gravy with taurine just in case.
It would be useful to know if meat baby food is cooked at a high enough
temp to destroy its taurine content. If anyone has any answers to these
issues, I think there would be a very ready audience (me, for one! :) :
1) actual amount of taurine required for ferrets,
2) cooking temp at which taurine is destroyed,
3) temp at which baby food is processed
Best wishes,
-Pam S.