From:
"Ulrike"
Date: 2003-10-11 10:47:31 UTC
Subject: RE: [ferrethealth] insulinoma and raw food
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-Id: <3F87DFC3.000007.03656@Ferretlove1>
I've given raw chicken to ferrets with a compromised immune system and they=
could handle it just fine. In 3 years I have not had any ferrets with
salmonella poisoning or anything like that, they only improved on their raw=
diet. I had one ferret with a pancreatic tumour (not insulinoma) and he
improved a great deal on the raw diet and I think it prolonged his life and=
more importantly improved the quality of life. I've given raw food to
insulinomic ferrets and other sick ones. I don't think a healthy immune
system is the one and only thing that ferrets need to fight off bacteria,
the stomach acid is stronger and the digestive tract is shorter which is wh=
y
they don't get salmonella poisoning like us humans. Out there there are
thousands of people who feed raw to dogs, cats and ferrets and have only go=
t
positive things to say about it. I was scared about feeding raw at first
but I did some *research* and read things like the BARF FAQ, joined
rawfeeding lists etc. and educated myself rather than just saying that
bacteria in meat is dangerous. And Bob Church has mentioned many times tha=
t
he feeds raw meat and bones, too.
Off topic now, I rescued a starving cat, she had a bad case of cat flu, I
have only fed her raw meat and bones and she put on weight and has improved=
greatly. No bacterial poisoning because of her compromised immune system. =
=
Our dogs are raw fed and when I took them to the vets to be spayed, our vet=
asked what we fed them because their condition/ coat was so much better tha=
n
all the other dogs.
Just my experience and it is real experience, not me talking about somethin=
g
I have not done.
Ulrike
=
West Wales Ferret Welfare
E-mail: ulrike@ferretlove.co.uk
http://www.ferretlove.co.uk
Last update 26/04/03 =
-------Original Message-------
=
> Hi!
> Absolutely agree with Ulrike. I've asked a question which is the best
> way to feed ferrets with raw, natural food
=
Hi, Julie and everyone else,
=
Our vet would disagree with you and agree with Dr. Murray. The risk of
salmonella, particularly with a ferret who is compromised, makes feeding ra=
w
food a very bad idea. Low carb yes, but let it be cooked first.
=
While Bob Church's Chicken Gravy recipe has some carbs (mainly sugars from
the Nutrical) it is what our vet recommends for insulinoma ferrets and is
much lower in complex carbs than kibble.