Please read if you have ever lost a ferret

[krazychica]

I am getting ready to start the transition to raw, but I'm getting scared by the number of ferrets that seem to be dying unexpectedly. Do any of you think a raw diet could have possibly contributed in any way to your beloved fuzzy's passing?

[buzzonesbirdie]

I have lost two ferrets and a third one is on his way out. the first one, Xena, died due to kidney failure just about 6 months after we got her and no i do not think putting her on a raw diet did anything but make her last few months healthier. Tigger whom we just lost we are not sure what happened but my vet and I agree that it was something that probably could not have been stopped and neither one of us think it was the diet. Zeus who is one is way out is nothing more then old age and a horrible start in life. He was Xena's cage mate so we are happy to just still have him. I can tell you that our Fatty was on his way out and once we got him on raw and whole prey he started getting better and better. His coordination increased, his strength and energy did too. He went from wanting to do nothing and sleep and walking with many problems to running around and playing with the rest of them and not acting his age . The only thing the raw did not help was his blindness that actually came afterwords but again raw is not to blame for the that. All but two of my ferrets started out their lives in homes that feed raw and are from lack of better words ferret mills( that does not mean that the homes we got some of them from were bad but the homes that they got them from were bad) and this is what i think is the cause and will be the cause for most of their deaths. I am pretty sure that my two that came from the private breeder and whose grandparents were raw feed will die of nothing more but old old old age. But thats just my humble opinion

[josiesmom]

I hate my PC! it ate my first reply!

I don't have time to retype my first reply, but the short answer is absolutely not! Feeding a natural diet has offered my ferrets a level of health and vitality they NEVER had when they were eating kibble!

I had one ferret pass from Juvenile Lymphosarcoma at 14 months old. She s my first ferret. She had Neural Crest Disorder so the JL was something she was born with and she would have passed even were she fed kibble. Being raised on natural food and whole prey she enjoyed superior activity levels and boundless energy! We'd go on daily excursions covering from 3 to 6 miles which she'd do at a breathless clip!

I've adopted seven other ferrets and switched them to natural diets which in every case has completely changed them. Their coats are gloriously silky and soft and practically glow. their energy level is through the roof. Their temperaments have mellowed and they are showing more affection towards me. They have muscled up and trimmed down - no more potbellies swaying to and fro. They can zip through tunnels and even turn around in the tunnels too! (Two of them couldn't even FIT in the 4" diameter tunnels much less turn around in them!) Their teeth have gone from being yellow, grey and coated with plaque to pearly white and gleaming.

A natural diet will NOT reverse insulinoma, but it may delay the final overcoming symptoms. Ever wonder why vets always recommend a diet high in protein for ferrets with health issues?

I've read about ferrets on kibble diets suffering from IBS, helicobactor, enteroccocus. Ferrets raised on natural diets don't seem to report these horrible problems.

My oldest adoptee turns 7 next week and she is not showing any signs of slowing down. She has gained more energy since being on the natural diet and I hope she is one of those ferrets that hasn't got insulinoma from being fed years and years of kibble.

I'm beginning to wonder how closely color is actually related to health issues- Josie who passed from Juvenile Lymphosarcoma was a Panda with four white feet, a white tail tip, dark belly spots and of course the white bib with dark shoulder cape and dark pants. Panda coloration is an external expression of Neural Crest Disorder, this is a genetic disease that causes abnormal responses in embryonic cells as they grow. It has nothing to do with diet.

Fozzy the one who passed from insulinoma was a champagne and he had extra long hair- not quite an angora, but pretty darn close! Champagnes are what is considered a "dilute" and I have no idea where his long hair came from - unless it was some sort of insulinomic sympton or more like a cushings syndrome issue. I think I remember reading ferrets don't get Cushings, but who knows?

I've only had ferrets for a couple years, but I am convinced by my own eyes and from communications with other natural feeders, that feeding ferrets what they were designed to eat IS offering them optimal health!

The issue then becomes- how much damage has been done to their systems already if they are late in life transitions? Communications with people fortunate enough to breed and raise their own kits naturally indicates kits that grow faster, larger and stronger than similar aged kibble fed kits.

Bottom line is I'd no sooner feed my horse a carnivore diet and expect her to stay healthy than I would feed my ferrets a herbivorous diet and expect them to stay healthy! We cannot ignore eons of digestive developments in the hopes that it will fit with what we think is convenient!

DO I think a natural diet contributes to ferrets dying unexpectedly - absolutely not! On the contrary I do think that feeding kibble can cause the ferrets to die rather EXPECTEDLY!

Cheers,
Kim

[Heather]

I have never lost a ferret because of it's raw diet. Ferrets are unfortunately very fragile and have many, many health issues, which you are now discovering as well. I can tell you that by feeding their more natural diet I have managed to keep them, healthy enough to either bounce back after an illness, or live longer with the illness. I've also lost this battle more times than I care to, but not because of diet.
Raw feeding isn't a cure all. It offers no guarantees. There are so many other problems that it can only offer a better chance. Genetics are a huge factor, diet is another, over vaccinating still another, then the general care and husbandry falling somewhere in all those alternatives. There is nothing you can do that will guarantee a longer life for your furchild, you can only stack the odds more to your favour. Feeding raw or natural is one of the factors that you can use to make it better, but you can still loose the battle as so many of us that have raised these little balls of fur know. We can do all the right things and still loose but we try and make it better for the time that we have
Does that help make a little sense of it?
ciao

[Forum Administrator]

All the ferrets in the "Rainbow Bridge" section of this forum passed away for the following reasons:

My ferret samson passed away recently from a blockage. This was not caused by bone or a mouse skull but rather by a piece of PLASTIC.

Chaos, quill's ferret quite possibly passed away from a reaction to ivermectin (a medication administered for ear mites)

Zena, Heather's ferret "suffered a debilitating stroke. Upon, further examination a tumour was discovered on her pancreas and another lession on her brain." In no way could this have been caused by a natural diet.

Mayhem, weeksl08's ferret, recently passed away. Although the EXACT cause is unknown its far more likely that her previous diet of ONLY FROSTED FLAKES (fed BEFORE weeksl08 aquired her) contributed to her untimely passing, then a natural diet causing her death.

Tigger, buzzonesbirdie's ferret had to be put to sleep. Before he passed he was in alot of pain. I believe he was suffering from age-related problems, but definitly NOT from a natural diet.

Josiesmom explained why fozzy and josie passed.

All in all a natural diet is not without risks (nothing is, not even a KIBBLE diet) but the risks are quite minimal because a ferret is BUILT to consume this type of diet. My 8 year old adrenal ferret, De has shown remarkable improvement in her health and activity level since being switched to a raw diet. I would never go back to kibble. Never, ever, ever.

[Heather]

The ferrets that I've had passed in my care... since starting to feed ferrets a raw diet.
Little Pandora Le Flert -- a botched adrenal surgery (surgeon's fault ) -- 2 yrs
Mayhem -- Cardio myopathy--lived as long as he did because of the diet (at least that's what my vet believes and I'm sticking to it -- 9 yrs
Porthos -- Juvenile lymphomas -- almost 3 yrs
Aremis -- misadventure--died in surgery -- 5 yrs
Little Mischief -- lumphosarcomas 9 yrs
Little Zena -- brain tumour 8 yrs
Aremis (7 yrs) is presently being treated for lymphomas. So you see disease is our biggest killers but if you look at the ages of some of our ferrets (we loose them young too) but for the most part they've lived happy and healthy lives due to the diets we've been feeding and the more wholistic care that we've chosen to give.
Oh, I should also add that none of these ferrets were purchased by me, they were all turned into my rescue and have had varying degrees of care.

[desertram]

the ferret i had posted in there had passed cause my bosses sister had taken him from a bad home that had been abusing him and i had them giving him raw but it was way to late for him he had a broken back we think. all animals get sick and its sad but die u can feed them the best kibble u think in the world and still its not enough for them they need what they are ment to have raw in there meals hope this helps everyone helped me see that with my ferrets and they are doing great 7 out of 8 are eatting somekind of raw and loving it looking good

[buzzonesbirdie]

I look at it this way, you hear stories of so and so's grandmother/father that at eggs and bacon every morning for breakfast and smoked and drank and lived to 90. Sure it happens but for the most part people who live long and healthy when putting aside genetics live that way because they eat right and treat their bodies right. Most people who die young do so because they eat wrong and don't treat their bodies right. Sure there are exceptions to every rule but for the most part those humans and animals that are the healthiest and live the longest putting aside genetics are those who ate right and treated themselves right.

[amyandfuzzies6]

Since switching to raw, we have not lost any ferrets but do have 4 with terminal illnesses. In all cases, the raw food has helped them, whereas if they were still on a kibble diet, they may have already passed. Below is a breakdown of these four.

Precious 6.5 YO female sable - diagnosed with insulinoma about 2 months ago. Note: All my babies were switched from a diet of Totally Ferret to RMBs about 2 years ago. The damage of eating 4 years of kibble had already been done however, I do believe the raw diet significantly slowed the progression. She continues to enthusiastically eat her raw but must have some carbs due to the insulinoma 24/7. We chose to go with the Wysong Archetype (with agreement from our homeo vet). I chose it because it does not contain any rendered (shudder) products. The doc has her on a natural hydracortisone (steroid) made from the wild yam. She also gets a renal supplement. So far, she is doing quite well on only 1 dose of the hydracortisone once daily at 0.11 mg.

Spooky 5.5 YO Male DEW with neural crest disorder. He has recently succumbed to liver disease but I contribute this more to the 1st 3 years of kibble. He still eats mainly raw - although be housed in the kitchen with Precious and her kibble - I know he eats a little kibble, too. None of his health problems have been caused by the raw and most are genetic.

Ozzy 5.5 YO Male Black Roan Mitt & Kimba 4 YO Female Chocolate Roan Mitt - both have Adrenal Disease. All my babies come from Marshall Farms so are unfortunately fixed way too early at about 6 weeks. I believe this in combination with their fancy colors (& genetics) are to blame - definitely not the raw food. Both are on completely raw diets (RMBs) with absolutely NO cooked food and receive daily oral melatonin. Adrenal disease effects the digestive system as well as the endocrine. I've found my adrenals have a much tougher time digesting cooked food than the raw. I discovered Ozzy could not even digest the cooked food and would vomit it back up.

Although I've only been feeding my ferrets a raw, natural diet for 2 years, I truly believe this is the best thing for them. My "control" group consists of my 3 youngest who've only had raw since coming home as kits. The 2 males are larger, stronger and basically just better developed. My female is a tiny little thing but she also is a Black Roan Mitt so time will tell if she is genetically predisposed to any medical issues. She is bright, feisty, and loaded with energy. She may be small, but she is very lean.