Small Newbie Victory :D

[novemberkris]

I hope this is the right place to post this.

I just had a small victory with Paulie and raw food. After reading some threads, I knew I didn't want to commit to a complete switch at this time. Then, I thought about Paulie's switch to loving EVO soup after surgery. Realizing the EVO tends to become a little "chunk" like when wet, I thought, "what if I throw in a small piece of this Primal Duck" from the sampler pack I'd bought to see if I could entice him to eat in October 2008? Well, I broke the small piece into smaller pieces, some bigger than others.

Well, I decided to offer the glop from a spoon (it makes it more special, you know). At first he ate around duck pieces. Then suddenly, he licked a little piece and started making the hissy sound he makes when he's really into his food. He was eagerly seeking little pieces of duck to eat with and instead of the kibble, hissing happily the whole time! This is great news from a ferret that wouldn't even eat treats of chicken as a kit! I'm so excited, I may have to attempt the switch sooner then I thought. In the meantime, I'll keep adding little meat bits to his daily soup to keep him interested.

Check here if you want to read (and haven't read) Paulie and I's background and our first, failed, switch attempt. Its my intro thread, so I'm sure most people who would be excited about this have read it already :
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=intro&action=display&thread=2223

I am so incredibly thrilled right now.

[sherrylynne]

That is excellent! Believe me, I was thrilled as well when mine took their first bites of real raw meat . Can't wait to hear more about little Paulie and his ventures into the raw food world!

[Heather]

Congratulations, it's so wonderful. Give your little one a great big hug from me By the way that enthusiasm doesn't change with time. Each time you get a little one to eat their natural diet you will feel this same thrill.
I got two lovely little furbabies who were turned into me just before Christmas. What makes this whole story about a ferret turn in so heartbreaking is when the furbabies are so loved but their people can no longer care for them. These two little sweethearts were broken hearted to find themselves in a strange place, filled with strange ferrets without their people. This was my first heartbreak in years, I have never had a ferret suffer from shelter shock...these two furbabies did. The stout little boy, Captain Jack was the first to come around and has been eating raw since just before the new year. Little tiny Calypso, has suffered severely. She would do nothing but sleep, she wouldn't eat, wouldn't play, wouldn't even investigate her new digs. Today, for the first time since she was dropped off here, she ate her raw food from a bowl on the floor. I was hopping around like an idiot. I've been switching ferrets for years, but for me this was such a breakthrough. No, I thrill each time one of my furbabies eat their real food for the first time. I get the same thrill when each of my charges get their ferrets to eat for the first time. It is so fantastic.
Congratulations, Paulie, you've made your momma so happy.
ciao

[spiritualtramp]

Congratulations! It really is a thrill when we find something that clicks in with their taste buds! I'm so excited for you and hope you keep up with introducing new meats into Paulie's diet. I love that he hisses when he likes it, my Diesel does that too. It's so cute!

[novemberkris]

The chicken Primal food was also a reasonable success this morning! He didn't eat all of it (or the duck) but he ate some of it with the EVO soup/broth. (He ate when I left the room for an hour, so no joy of hissy slurping). His poops are a little seedy, but they've gone off and on since he's been about 6 months old (another good reason to get him raw this year). Quite frankly, I blame treats I use to reward him for going in the cage (too much corn--and he avoids jerky). Maybe I'll start putting a drop of Tone or something similar on the side of his food bowel when I put him up. I want as few GI vet trips as possible for this sensitive furkid. If he learns to like meat, I can give him that for a treat (score!). If I keep having success with the meat chunks, I may be ready to try a switch to medallions (not scary to my parents) as a step toward a more natural diet, too. It will be sad for my parents dog, because when Paulie didn't taste or finish a medallion last attempt, he got to eat it. (Actually, I tried the medallions last time in order to replace his treats with raw food).