From:
Vicki Montgomery
Date: 2007-05-14 14:36:53 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] commercial vs home made foods
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
I am not a veterinarian, nor a pet nutritionist, but I do have 20 years experience of feeding one of my many pets, a cocker-border collie mix. I've fed many, many other pets but Nicky was fed what I ate.
I also welcome correction if I have heard wrong here, but I understand that most vets get their nutritional training, and only a very little of that, from the pet food companies who have a vested interest in promoting their diets for profit. Many of those diets are based on corn or wheat. Being carnivores I do not think that plants should be the most abundant ingredient in my dog's, cat's or ferret's diet.
I fed Nicky the very same exact thing that I ate. Each night I made myself a plate of food and I made him a plate of food. We ate a meat and 2-3 vegetables (usually one green, one red or yellow and a starch). Nicky was required to eat his veggies as well as his meat. If I thought he would not eat something (not his favorite) I would mix his food all together so that he had to eat it all. We ate this way for 14 years. I took him to have his teeth cleaned at 12 years old, just because I thought I should, and his vet was amazed at how old I said he was because of his teeth having very little tarter and because of his over all health. This was a new vet for him, the ferrets had seen her for a few years.
Now I am not saying to quit feeding kibble to your pets. That is everyone's own decision based on what they feel is best for their pet. What I am saying is that even the AVMA may not give the best information, because of where their information comes from. IF I've been misled about where vets get their nutritional education, then I welcome correction. But I got my information from a vet who is and has been researching both over vaccination and diet for several years and was instrumental in getting the 3 year rabies vaccine accepted in Texas.
To me the most important thing is to know that what you are feeding is a balanced diet for that particular's animals needs, without toxins - i.e. melamine.
If you feed kibble please find the very best that you can afford. If what you can afford is nutritionally unsound for that pet, maybe getting another pet whose proper diet you can afford is best all around. If you feed a raw or cooked natural diet make sure that your pet is indeed getting all the nutrients that s/he needs. Proteins and amino acids from muscle are not everything needed for any carnivore. Choosing what is best for your pets seems simple, but we love our pets and when emotions become involved choices become harder. I can't give him up / I won't give him up, even if I can't feed him right.
Good luck making the best choice for them.
Vicki
He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart. And in our own despair, and against our will, comes Wisdom by the awful Grace of God...Aeschylus
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