Weight?

[wienercat]

I saw her lose weight and worried she was starving herself to death since she wont touch the meat.
so yes, i gave in and gave her kibble... as i said, when i try to switch her slowly, she digs all the food out of the bowl to find the food she LIKES. Yes, she may have stashes but eventually they DO go away...

As for the cat food she stole from... as i said, i replace it with her food so she thinks she's stealing theirs but it's hers hehehehehe.

As for the smell of poop, the DUK soup really makes them smell BAD... like i said, I gag... so when the other half said "no more unless they're sick" regarding the DUK soup, i wasnt fighting with him. It was nasty... and really gross.

He's cool with raw feeding and thinks it's awesome that Ana and Sarsippy took to it right away.

Regarding feeding Raspy 3x a day and getting her used to a schedule, both my bf and i work, and everyone we know works so there's no mid day availablity to feed her.

My 3 fuzzbutts have left the house to go to the dr only. We know no one who owns ferrets either.

I did order the EVO so I'll get Raspy on that, and then try the meat again at that pt. Thank you for all of the input!

[josiesmom]

Just an FYI,

if you haven't finalized the EVO order- see if you can get a sample. When I fed EVO I noticed a significant odor from their deposits! So if your nose is sensitive, this may not be a good choice.

THe three times a day feeding might be doable if you say fed in the morning when you woke up, then removed what she hasn't eaten before you go to work.

When you get home, ( or your bf) directly offer her "supper". Change your clothes, relax a bit but remove anything she hasn't eaten right away.

Then just before you get ready for bed. Offer her the third ration, removing what she hasn't eaten just before you turn in. This should give her a fairly regular spaced three meals in a 24 hour period.

Even if she gets a breakfast and supper, but not a dinner occasionally she'll be looking forward to her next meal. Once on a raw/natural diet it is quite common that the ferret only eats once a day! My guys now pretty much let me know when they are hungry. Sometimes they seem like bottomless pits, other days they aren't interested in food much at all. I don't worry because this would be similar to what could happen "in the wild"; eat great one day, keep looking for a meal the next.

Its US that get hooked on the three meals a day thinking. Carnivores systems are completely different. They are designed to gorge and fast.

Kibble creates a problem because it doesn't have the correct nutrients so the ferret has to eat constantly - something it's system is NOT designed to do. That is what herbivores are designed to do- eat constantly.

She'll come around!

Cheers,
Kim

I know its frustrating when you want to offer them a healthy diet, but all they want to eat is the junk- its rather like trying to get kids off of sodas and twinkies and onto carrots and brussel sprouts!

[wienercat]

yeah the EVO order is shipped already...

but that is good to know... regarding feeding 3x a day not necessary. lets see... i get up early to give them time out of the cage while i get ready, change food bowls , clean the cage, etc... so theres breakfast. i get home at 6pm mon-thurs, so i can do a feeding then, and i go to bed around 11pm, so theres the 3rd feeding. friday after the office job, i have the restaurant gig, so ill have to get my bf to do that feeding, and im home at midnight to do the 3rd. saturday i can do breakfast.... him supper, and again me at midnight for dinner. that could def work!

its just getting raspy to eat meat. if she so much as smells something different, she wont eat it. im worried if i mix something tasty to sarsippy in raspys kibble, sarsippy will eat the kibble too. hes good about not eating dry kibble. ill post the pic later of the 3 eating seperately lol. any suggestions there? at least once the EVO comes, if sarsippy eats it, itll be better for him than the 8 in 1. just how do i get raspy on raw? its soooo frusrating when the other 2 are sooo ready!

[Forum Administrator]

Hey guys, just wanted to pop in real quick to say a few things.

Many people are very sensitive about what they feed their ferrets. After all what we feed is pretty much a reflection of how we care for our animals. So when we find that we might not be feeding the best food (even if we thought we were) its easy to get upset. I urge everyone to remember that atleast on MY forum if we point out some things about your ferret's current diet we are NEVER criticizing you as an owner, instead we are trying to undo the copius amounts of misinformation out there on what to feed a ferret.

It really makes me sad to see ferret owners pulled every which way when it comes to diet. They are told to feed 50 million different things and that changes every day. They pick a product thinking its "good" only to find out its "bad" or maybe they'll be feeding a food their ferrets like and then a recall will hit like back in 2007. Add to the fact that there is ALWAYS going to be someone out there (but not on my forum or else someone's in BIG trouble ) that will sass you about what you feed. Heck I get heckled for feeding whole prey sometimes.

The most important thing to remember is this. If you are putting this much effort into picking out your ferret's foods then you obvious love your little one. There are people out there that dont even realize they need to give their pet's diet a second thought. Here at HF we try and be open, honest, and helpful regarding diet. Now to be fair, we do have an obvious bias here (natural diets: whole prey, raw, commerical raw, etc)

All in all we just want to help you do what's best for your ferrets. We want to put their nutrition in YOUR hands and not in a company's hands (although sometimes this is what the owner chooses) that's not to say that is "bad" but I like people to know they DO have the option of being more in control of what they feed their pets.

I apologize from the bottom of my heart for all of the misinformation that is out there regarding ferret diet (pet diets in general really). Sometimes when I see a pet food commercial I want to cry. Ever seen a cat food commercial where it says "and whole grains for energy!" (hmmmm, funny, obligate carnivores use protein and fat for energy NOT carbs. Their bodies are designed to use a process called gluconeogenesis to convert amino acids into glucose, so why is the kibble company marketing grains to an obligate carnivore? Talk about false advertising!)

Its so easy to get confused (and frustrated!) I promise to do the best I can to answer any questions you all may have. If you ever get frustrated or confused or need personal assistance, please dont hesitate to PM me!

[wienercat]

The EVO came in....

Drum roll please.....


RASPY WONT STOP EATING! She's not left that bowl since the EVO came in!!!!!!!!!

WOOT WOOT!

ok she may never go raw (but now i know i wont stop tryin! there's hope yet!!!!!), but we have found a food she likes! she hasnt even dug up the bowl!!!!!!

btw... i mixed 50/50 right off the bat.... and she's llooooovvvvvin it!

[Forum Administrator]

Hey if she is open to the EVO that shows that its not that she wont ever try a new food, its probably that she doesnt like the new TEXTURE of the raw food You can work her up to different textures. There is hope.

[josiesmom]

Glad Raspy has ventured into a new food! Giuli's right about the texture, that's the second biggest difference in meaty bones from kibble- the wetness and softness. Which is rather like *poo*, and any sensible ferret NEVER eats *poo*!

She may surprise you afterall. The nice thing about natural foods is there are sooo very many to try. What appeals to one ferret may not appeal to another. And when you least expect it, or aren't watching the ferret sneaks a snack and then begins looking for more!

Just never give up! Never surrender! Raspy is contemplating new tastes even as we speak!

Cheers,
Kim

[wienercat]

Aug 16, 2008 9:21:47 GMT -5 josiesmom said:

Glad Raspy has ventured into a new food! Giuli's right about the texture, that's the second biggest difference in meaty bones from kibble- the wetness and softness. Which is rather like *poo*, and any sensible ferret NEVER eats *poo*!

She may surprise you afterall. The nice thing about natural foods is there are sooo very many to try. What appeals to one ferret may not appeal to another. And when you least expect it, or aren't watching the ferret sneaks a snack and then begins looking for more!

Just never give up! Never surrender! Raspy is contemplating new tastes even as we speak!

Cheers,
Kim

i've been taking the kibble out at night and putting raw in there... in the morning, clean the cage, put kibble back.... but... Raspy isnt eating enough and well i guess compared to Sarsippy, anyone's ferret seems skinny.

I have watched Sarsippy ... he WONT TOUCH dry kibble!!!!! So i put tonight, good kibble for raspy (in 3 days old food is gone and all the new stuff now), and meat for Sarsippy and Ana....

Sarsippy and ana went right to the meat, Raspy to the kibble. No cross feeding...

now they are happy. i figured texture was the issue but i dont know how to make her eat it then.