Ferret food, or Cat food? How 2 Change..

Question
Hi Jacquie,
I've just assumed the responsibility of trying to nurse an older somewhat sickly ferret back to health.  I already have two very lively and healthy ferrets that I love. Her old owner (a close friend) told me that the ferret is about 5 years old, was loosing hair, appears to be very underweight and ONLY WILL EAT CAT FOOD.  She had a cat that the ferret was buddies with, and when she let Splinter out she would run to the cat's bowl and eat her food.  I've been TRYING to feed her Marshell's food in combination with a high calorie supplement, but she still isn't eating the food.  She loves the supplement though.  The first day I mixed the existing food in her dish with the new ferret food, and she still only eats the cat food.  I want her to be healthy again...Do I go back to feeding her cat food? You suggested HILLS A/D CANNED FELINE PERSCRIPTION DIET as well as DUCK SOUP to another person with a similar problem.  Should I give her these supplements along with the cat food? or is there a better way to wean her off of it?  

I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you,
Clair

Answer
Hi Clair:

You don't mention what brand cat food you are talking about. If it is a grocery store type cat food (Whiskas, Friskies, etc) it absolutely will not meet a ferret's nutritional needs. However, there are several other very premium brand cat foods that do meet a ferret's special nutritional needs such as: Innova, Felidae, Arden Grange, Natural Balance Ultra, Chicken Soup For the Kitten Lover's Soul, Eukanuba Chicken & Rice, Eukanuba Lamb & Rice, Healthwise, Holistic Blend, Prairie Brand, Eagle Pack Holistic, Blackwood Cat, Royal Canin, Wellness Super 5 Mix, California Natural, Avoderm Breeder's Choice,and several others you can find here:

      http://www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

If your friend just happened to be feeding her cat one of the cat foodso that rates a "10" on the chart above, you won't need to change the ferret's diet.  If not, and especially if the ferret is eating one of the better-known cat foods commonly purchased in grocery stores, it is important to get the ferret over onto a ferret-specific food that will meet his/her nutritional needs.

Ferrets do "imprint" upon their food at an early age, so it won't be easy to change the diet and it won't happen overnight. You will probably have to start with adding just a few of the new kibbles to the old diet, then add more and more of the new and less and less of the old until you actually phase the old food out completely and are feeding completely the new, healthy ferret food.

Totally Ferret is one that is very well received by most ferrets. Another one is Path Valley Chicken and Rice crunchy kibble (NOT the poultry - all my kids hated that one and so did everyone's I asked about too). Natural Gold, with 50% protein seems to be well-received also. You want to be sure to read the link above on how to choose a healthy ferret food and what to look for - MEAT based, few additives and little or NO sugar. NO dried fruit pieces under any circumstances - not in their food and not in their snacks. Ferrets are 'obligate carnivores' and even tho clever merchandisers try to sell people colorful foods with dried fruit pieces in them, the dried fruit will only serve to cause intestinal blockages in ferrets. Kaytee, Kaytee Fiesta, Hartz, Mazuri and some other cheapie pet store brands are just not designed with ferrets in mind and should not even be considered. 8 in 1 has an "Advanced Ultra" that is a good food and most ferrets like it, but their Superior and some other ones they make are actually pretty inferior when you look at the statistics. So, do check the list when you decide what to put your ferret on. Once you decide, continue to offer it to him regularly - start by acting like it's a yummmmy treat! Dribble a little Ferretone on a piece of two and hand feed them - he'll definitely think they are treats :-)  Sneaky, but sometimes sneaky works. Ferretone is good for this, but you cannot leave food with ferretone on it in the bowl; it will spoil. Also, Ferretone should be cut in half with light olive oil, not only to make it go twice as far, but also to keep from overdosing your ferret on Vitamins A and D, which are oil-based and the ferret can't just urinate out extra vitamins; they build up in his system and can make him very ill, so do be careful of that. Ferrets seem to like Ferretone just as well when it is half olive oil anyway and olive oil is good for them, as they need extra fat.

You will also need to get your ferret on a regular schedule of hairball treatments - please read any of my MANY posts about Vetasyl here on this website and get your little one started with a 3-day treatment, then once a month repeat the three-day treatment; during shedding you can treat daily. Vetasyl can't hurt the ferret as long as you mix in the proportions stated.

Yes, you may supplement your ferret's food with Hill's A/D OR Hill's I/D, which is basically the same EXCEPT it is not as high in fat, which means your ferret won't gain weight so quickly and go overweight as fast on I/D.  Your ferret should eat *some* kind of soup - whether it's Hill's I/D, A/D, Uncle Jim's Duk Soup (with the Vetasyl treatments), etc - on a regular basis so that when the ferret gets sick he will already be accustomed to soup, which makes it a lot easier to help sick ferrets get well. They need to KNOW the soup before they MUST have it to save their lives.

There is a book called FERRETS FOR DUMMIES by Kim Schilling that tells just about everything a new ferret owner needs to know. OR you can read online at:

http://www.ferretcentral.org

http://www.ferretuniverse.com

http://www.miamiferret.org

Be sure to look all around all the websites and read on all topics to familiarize yourself with various aspects of ferret ownership, especially FERRETPROOFING, HOW TO RECOGNIZE AN ILLNESS, CHOOSING A GOOD, HEALTHY FOOD, SAFE AND FUN TOYS, VACCINATIONS, WHAT GOES IN A CAGE, and so many other topics I can't even begin to list them all.

Please feel free to come back here at any time to ask questions too. I'll be glad to help any time possible in any way possible - again, congratulations on your new baby!!  You are just about to learn how to learn to live in a completely different way - and how to LOVE LIFE!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers