Amount of protein?

[xeopse]

So I'm looking at a million types of cat/ferret food. I'm going to get a small bag of kibble to transistion them from the crappy food they came with to the "better" kibble, that way in case they take a while to switch to raw they still have something to eat. I will make soupie with ground meats/bone and water so it's softer.

What to look for in nutritional analysis? Specifically:
Protein?
Fat?
Taurine?
Anything else?

I tried looking everywhere in the forums where this would be previously answered... and I couldn't find it. Sorry if this has been explained a million times

Also, I give Leia salmon oil (www.vitalchoice.com/product/omega-3-salmon-oil/1000-mg-sockeye-salmon-oil-softgels-180-count) when she eats her meals. Is is beneficial to give them to her as well? It's been suggested on the rawfeeding Yahoo group to give them to pets to help balance out the Omega 3/Omega 6 issues people and animals have resulting from the grain-fed livestock. Is it worth it for ferrets?

[mustelidmusk]

Most typical ferret dietary requirements will specify the following for kibble:

36-45% animal based protein
22-30% fat
taurine
no grain, low fiber (no more than 2.5 - 3%
first 3-5 inredients should be animal product
low carbs

I personally recommend switching directly to freeze-dried raw diets such as Wysong archetypal I, AFS, Stella and Chewies. It will be just as easy (maybe even easier) to switch to freeze-dried raw as it will be to switch to another kibble. However, it is more expensive!

a good compromise might be to switch to archetypal 1 with different kibble as well.

Here are some ferret food comparison charts:
(One food that may not be on the charts is Wellness Core feline diet, which is better than a LOT of the ferret diets.)

www.hofa-rescue.org/health/documents/care/FoodChart.pdf

www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

www.ferret.com/ferret-articles/how-to-feed-your-ferret/6/

www.ferret-universe.com/care/resources/food_chart.pdf

www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?articleid=2777


-jennifer

[xeopse]

1. Sorry, what is AFS? =/
2. Freeze dried raw is kind of a new concept for me... what exactly do you do with that? Money isn't really the problem. I just don't want them eating this garbage anymore! I am feeding 5, so I imagine now matter what I do feeding them isn't going to be easy OR cheap.

[Heather]

Have you checked out your mentoring thread with sherrylynne? She can help you as well with your food related questions.
ciao