Ferret Eating Problems

Question
We have had our ferret bandit for 5 years now, he has been eating 8 in 1 Ultra Blend for 3-4 years. In the last few days he has stopped eating as much food, he will nibble on a little bit but most of what we give him is going uneaten. He will however make a beeline to our kitten's food when we let him out of the cage and will eat it when given to him (we gave him a small amount because we were scared of the fact that he wasnt eating). Is there any reason we should be concerned for his lack of appetite for his own food? We also recently moved and added the kitten to the family. Is it possible that it is related to the stress of those two events? Besides not eating, he seems healthy, his stool is normal and he runs around and plays. (btw he will be making a trip to the vet this week to be sure it isnt something else...)

Thanks a bunch :)

Answer
Hi Cathy:

Anytime I hear that a ferret isn't eating properly, I have concerns about possible intestinal blockages (from eating something other than food such as fur from grooming themselves, rubberbands, small toy parts, etc). If a ferret has an emergency blockage, their intestines *can* rupture; however you *should* feel a tight abdomen before that happens.  Even more obvious, you should see smaller diameter poops or less poop in addition to less energy, possible vomiting - those would all lead me to think blockage.

Since your ferret apparently doesn't seem to have any of the other symptoms I would worry about, I will *assume* that he is eating your kitten's food (and liking it LOL) and is eating it instead of his own food.  IF you are feeding your kitten Iams Kitten Chow (in the purple bag), that food actually does meet a ferret's MINIMUM dietary requirements.

So, you really have two choices - start feeding your kitten Iams kitten Chow and let the ferret eat it also, OR move your kitten's food bowl someplace where the ferret cannot get to it. NOTE:  Iams KITTEN is the ONLY kitten OR cat food that is adequate for your ferret (not even Iams Adult formula).

It never hurts to check a ferret for blockages/hairballs. For mine, I mix up some very very soupy, warm Uncle Jim's (by Marshall Foods) Duk Soup Mix and open ONE CAPSULE of a product called "VETASYL" and stir into the brothlike duk soup mixture. Dip your finger in it, then in the ferret's mouth to get him to start eating it (or you can use baby food meat - chicken or turkey; and make a very thin soupy mixture and open the contents of one Vetasyl capsule into it.  The Vetasyl is high in fiber and expands after your ferret eats it, then pushes any *partial* blockages thru and out with their next few poops.  I repeat this one time for three days in a row to make sure they are cleaned out good. I do this *instead of* giving them ferretlax or cat laxative.  

Here's why: One of my ferrets had a partial bowel obstruction several years ago and my vet recommended giving him about 1/2tsp of the goopy lax DAILY to be sure he didn't get any blockages around the scar tissue inside his intestines.  After giving my cat Vetasyl once and being impressed with what it helped him pass, I decided to try it in a bit smaller dosage with the ferret who has scar tissue in his intestines from surgery.  The next morning there was a hairball that he had passed that was fully the length of one of my fingers and almost as big around also!!  How surprised I was!!  So, now that's what I give ALL my kids - three days in a row to begin with; then once weekly after that.

Best of luck - hope that helps a little bit. You can get Vetsyl at your vets or at a pet store.

Hug those fuzzy ones!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers