matty73 4 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 young lad wanted a kitt from me so i went to have a look at his place to see where it would be kept and thats when i noticed that he was feeding dry cat food when i told him i would only give him the kitt if he fed it ferret food he said he had fed them cat food for years and theres nothing wrong with it when i asked why he seemed baffled at my question like thats what everyone feeds them on when i explained i fed mine rabbits most of the year until hot weather then feed them james wellbeloved with some raw eggs and raw meat every couple days to give them a change from the dry food he just sniggered and said id like to .whats your veiws on this do you feed ferrets like this or do you know someone who does. he told me hes a member on here so maybe hell read this and learn something i hope so Quote Link to post
Guest mk3 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 i feed a mix cat/ferret complete, raw caught game, and veg with no problems what so ever Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 The problem with cheap cat biscuits is they contain no meat protein , its soya , if you buy the expensive brands like Arden Grange then you may as well buy ferret food if the reason for feeding cheap biscuits is cost Quote Link to post
matty73 4 Posted July 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 amswers in the name mate, CAT food, its for cats... exactly mate i cant get my head round it its not like ferret food is more expensive or harder to find why cat food i know its got high protein maybe ok for emergency but not for regular everyday feeding is it just me Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 amswers in the name mate, CAT food, its for cats... exactly mate i cant get my head round it its not like ferret food is more expensive or harder to find why cat food i know its got high protein maybe ok for emergency but not for regular everyday feeding is it just me Agree with you i cant understand why people feed real cheap nasty cat biscuits , its got to be to do with cost Quote Link to post
skp_2k8 1 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 i feed my ferrets on whiskas cat meant been feeding it for years perfectly fine for ferrets and 3 or 4 of my mates feed there ferrets on the same stuff and a raw egg 1nce a week and rabbits on the week end hope this hekps sum how Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 amswers in the name mate, CAT food, its for cats... exactly mate i cant get my head round it its not like ferret food is more expensive or harder to find why cat food i know its got high protein maybe ok for emergency but not for regular everyday feeding is it just me They may be high in protein but cheaper brands do not use meat protein , its vegetable Quote Link to post
matty73 4 Posted July 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 im starting to see where this lad gets his feeding veiws from seems like theres s few people feeding cat food around but for the life of me i cant see why cant be much cheaper surely Quote Link to post
skp_2k8 1 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 its not about the price [bANNED TEXT] i feed my ferrets ferret food they get all lazey and dnt seem there self but [bANNED TEXT] i brought them back on to cat food they peked up again so i stuck with cat food Quote Link to post
lorelei0922 2 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Ferrets are.. as we all know.. obligate carnivores... their guts aren't designed to deal with or absorb nutrients from vegetable matter whatsoever.. the proteins to be found in most ( certainly the cheaper brands) of cat food are vegetable based protiens.. which means the ferret will not absorb the problem nutrients it needs to live a long healthy life.. contrary to some's believe.. a ferret living to the ripe ole age of 4-5 isn't considered all that great!!! I also got a first hand look at the problem of NOT feeding sufficent whole prey items this past weekend... I was asked to judge a ferret show... fair enough .. i enjoy the shows and stuff in the off season and the funds raised were going to the ferret club i belong to... So i turn up on the day.. we had 78 ferrets entered... and i cant tell you.. how many.. absolutely nasty .. dirty teeth i saw!! that green stuff growing on your ferret's back gnashers??? let me give ya a clue it AINT SUPPOSE TO BE THERE!!! that nasty plaque and tartar builds up, causes gum disease, eats at the tooth, introduces bacterial infections... any idea how quickly a simple baterial infection can take down your prize worker?? 2 days... and thats all she wrote! i pulled aside the owners of the worst of these cases and without fail..every single one of them told me they feed dry food.. either dry ferret food.. or dry cat food... they simply couldn't be bothered to feed raw and whole prey or didn't understand the need to or said "my ferret wont eat raw".... I feed a majority of raw and whole prey here... with the weather as it is i feed over night and in the cooler mornings... they DO get dry now and then if its just too darn hot to be feeding raw.. but i'm hoping.. nay.. expecting!! to have 7-8 yrs out of my ferrets before i even THINK of having to replace them with fresh working stock... i put a lot of time and effort into my working ferrets.. would be a shame to have to start over for the lack of a simple thing as a proper diet... Quote Link to post
ferretmaniac 5 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 its not about the price [bANNED TEXT] i feed my ferrets ferret food they get all lazey and dnt seem there self but [bANNED TEXT] i brought them back on to cat food they peked up again so i stuck with cat food See thats quite interesting to know. Didnt think it would make that much of a difference. My view is it's better feeding the ferrets cat food than nothing at all. Afterall a ferret and a cat eat the same prey out in the wild so they must have pretty much the same digestive system. All in all a ferret and any pet, dog, cat will be better on fresh game if it was possible to be fed to them everyday of the year. FM Quote Link to post
ferretmaniac 5 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Ferrets are.. as we all know.. obligate carnivores... their guts aren't designed to deal with or absorb nutrients from vegetable matter whatsoever.. the proteins to be found in most ( certainly the cheaper brands) of cat food are vegetable based protiens.. which means the ferret will not absorb the problem nutrients it needs to live a long healthy life.. contrary to some's believe.. a ferret living to the ripe ole age of 4-5 isn't considered all that great!!! I also got a first hand look at the problem of NOT feeding sufficent whole prey items this past weekend... I was asked to judge a ferret show... fair enough .. i enjoy the shows and stuff in the off season and the funds raised were going to the ferret club i belong to... So i turn up on the day.. we had 78 ferrets entered... and i cant tell you.. how many.. absolutely nasty .. dirty teeth i saw!! that green stuff growing on your ferret's back gnashers??? let me give ya a clue it AINT SUPPOSE TO BE THERE!!! that nasty plaque and tartar builds up, causes gum disease, eats at the tooth, introduces bacterial infections... any idea how quickly a simple baterial infection can take down your prize worker?? 2 days... and thats all she wrote! i pulled aside the owners of the worst of these cases and without fail..every single one of them told me they feed dry food.. either dry ferret food.. or dry cat food... they simply couldn't be bothered to feed raw and whole prey or didn't understand the need to or said "my ferret wont eat raw".... I feed a majority of raw and whole prey here... with the weather as it is i feed over night and in the cooler mornings... they DO get dry now and then if its just too darn hot to be feeding raw.. but i'm hoping.. nay.. expecting!! to have 7-8 yrs out of my ferrets before i even THINK of having to replace them with fresh working stock... i put a lot of time and effort into my working ferrets.. would be a shame to have to start over for the lack of a simple thing as a proper diet... Cats are carnivores not herbivores or omnivores, same as a ferret. So how is veg soo bad for them when its put in cat food? FM Quote Link to post
lorelei0922 2 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Ferrets are.. as we all know.. obligate carnivores... their guts aren't designed to deal with or absorb nutrients from vegetable matter whatsoever.. the proteins to be found in most ( certainly the cheaper brands) of cat food are vegetable based protiens.. which means the ferret will not absorb the problem nutrients it needs to live a long healthy life.. contrary to some's believe.. a ferret living to the ripe ole age of 4-5 isn't considered all that great!!! I also got a first hand look at the problem of NOT feeding sufficent whole prey items this past weekend... I was asked to judge a ferret show... fair enough .. i enjoy the shows and stuff in the off season and the funds raised were going to the ferret club i belong to... So i turn up on the day.. we had 78 ferrets entered... and i cant tell you.. how many.. absolutely nasty .. dirty teeth i saw!! that green stuff growing on your ferret's back gnashers??? let me give ya a clue it AINT SUPPOSE TO BE THERE!!! that nasty plaque and tartar builds up, causes gum disease, eats at the tooth, introduces bacterial infections... any idea how quickly a simple baterial infection can take down your prize worker?? 2 days... and thats all she wrote! i pulled aside the owners of the worst of these cases and without fail..every single one of them told me they feed dry food.. either dry ferret food.. or dry cat food... they simply couldn't be bothered to feed raw and whole prey or didn't understand the need to or said "my ferret wont eat raw".... I feed a majority of raw and whole prey here... with the weather as it is i feed over night and in the cooler mornings... they DO get dry now and then if its just too darn hot to be feeding raw.. but i'm hoping.. nay.. expecting!! to have 7-8 yrs out of my ferrets before i even THINK of having to replace them with fresh working stock... i put a lot of time and effort into my working ferrets.. would be a shame to have to start over for the lack of a simple thing as a proper diet... Cats are carnivores not herbivores or omnivores, same as a ferret. So how is veg soo bad for them when its put in cat food? FM A cat's digestive system is designed slightly differently from a ferrets... they have things that allow them to process the vegetable based protiens found in poor quality cat food.. though even that is NOT ideal... you can certainly tell the difference health wise between a cat fed with high quality food or a BARF diet vrs a cat eating crap food... think of it like people... sure ... our kids would LOVE hotdogs and mac and cheese for dinner every night.... they would live... they would grow... but it would complicate things in the long run because they aren't gettin everything they need and are putting nothing but crap in their bodies... you make your kids eat veggies... lean meats... proper meals... same goes for your animals.. feed them what they need... Quote Link to post
cometa300s 20 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 i feed mine anything i shoot witch is magpies rabbits pigeons ect and have a bowl of dry webbox cat food in there cage every day through these hot days they also have any scrap meat we have left over at diner ect my ferrets are fine and dandy. they are always happy full of energy clean coats and nashers all the best liam Quote Link to post
rabbit mad mic 0 Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 well said ferretmaniac ive fed my ferrets on catfood for years and they are perfectly HEALTHY, good workers and give me years of graft. theres fook all wrong with cat food ATB mic Quote Link to post
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