On Mon, 10 Aug 2015 08:28:39 -0400, Gary > wrote:

>Bruce wrote:
>>
>> jmcquown wrote:
>> >Buffy, so far, has no ailments or illnesses and doesn't require
>> >expensive prescription food. She's doing just fine and is very healthy
>> >with the store brands.
>>
>> In the end, it's a choice between your wallet and your pet
>
>Yeah. If your pet is doing good on whatever you feed it, that's good.
>I've noticed too that even some of the more expensive pet foods sold
>at pet stores are not all that. Everyone needs to read the ingredient
>list on any food.
>
>Cats, ferrets, dogs are all carnivores and need a high protein content
>in their food.

I need to inform you that dogs are NOT carnivores... I don't know
about ferrets but felines are true carnivores. Wikkipedia says:
Ferrets are obligate carnivores.[16] The natural diet of their wild
ancestors consisted of whole small prey—i.e., meat, organs, bones,
skin, feathers, and fur.[17] Ferrets have short digestive systems and
quick metabolism, so they need to eat frequently. Prepared dry foods
consisting almost entirely of meat (including *high-grade cat food*,
although specialized ferret food is increasingly available and
preferable)[18] provide the most nutritional value and are the most
convenient,[19] though some ferret owners feed pre-killed or live prey
(such as mice and rabbits) to their ferrets to more closely mimic
their natural diet.[20][21] Ferret digestive tracts lack a cecum and
the animal is largely unable to digest plant matter.[22] Before much
was known about ferret physiology, many breeders and pet stores
recommended food like fruit in the ferret diet, but it is now known
that such foods are inappropriate, and may in fact have negative
ramifications on ferret health. Ferrets imprint on their food at
around six months old. This can make introducing new foods to an older
ferret a challenge, and even simply changing brands of kibble may meet
with resistance from a ferret that has never eaten the food as a kit.
It is therefore advisable to expose young ferrets to as many different
types and flavors of appropriate food as possible.[23]