From:
kittydoc2@aol.com
Date: 2008-03-21 19:33:35 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Insulinoma in ferrets
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi John-
Thanks for your response. I appreciate that your experience with your
personal ferrets on a raw diet has been favorable. Largely, my personal
experience with my own ferrets (currently over 15) eating a commercial kibbled diet
combined with a homemade soup has been favorable.
HOWEVER, as veterinary professionals, we have a RESPONSIBILITY to the pet
owning public to present a fair and balanced overview of what we do and don't
know.
I am on the exam writing committee of the ABVP Exotic Companion Mammal specialty board - which is why I am a bugger for accuracy and documentation.
Neither you nor I, nor the remainder of the veterinary community, KNOW that
feeding a non-kibbled diet prevents insulinoma..........nor virtually any
other condition that I am aware of. We may speculate it, it may be our personal
opinion..........but it is not the TRUTH, which is what we need to offer pet
owners.
Case in point, my mom has smoked for over 70 years and swears because she
doesn't have lung cancer, smoking doesn't cause lung cancer. Our experiences
as individuals are biased and shape our general approach to husbandry and
medicine. But they can't be offered as PROOF without more information and a
larger sample size.
I am not a proponent of kibbled diets. I am not a proponent of raw foods.
I am not a proponent of homemade foods. I am not an expert on the genetics
of mass-produced "puppy mill" ferrets. But, I am a proponent of truth in
advertising, and educating myself and my clients in what we know. Everything
else is simply an educated guess - which is great. I make educated guesses for
my patients and with my clients every day of my life -- because not
everything has been proven. But everyone has to know what is a guess, and what we
know. And veterinarians HAVE to be the people that translate the literature
accurately to the pet owners, not many pet owners are able to research each
health issue the way we have to.
Pet owners SHOULD grill their veterinarians to find out how much of what we
say is our opinion, and how much is proven. Personally, I find another MD
when my doctor isn't willing to back up his recommendations with studies
supporting it. Pet owners should expect no less from their veterinarians.
Don't mean to stir the pot, but this is a VERY important issue.
Sandra Mitchell, DVM, DABVP
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