for Dave and other Natural Feeders : HUMOR
As I'm sure you've experienced, Natural feeders have to put up with a lot of ridiculous misinformation when it comes to their animal companions.
Some funny retorts I've come across over time. Thought I'd share for a laugh.
> I mean really, what do they think? That ferrets evolved crunching on the fruit of the wild kibble tree?
>And don't forget the polecats who set up their little hibachis to cook the prey after they caught it, so they wouldn't get sick from eating it raw.
The hibachi one is my favorite. ;D
MD
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Ferret Research: http://ferretknots.blogspot.com/
Ferret Resources: http://nippynihon.blogspot.com/
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Yeah....... and my dogs and cats would choose a bunch of carrots over chicken (on the hibachi of course)! :D
(though most of the dogs will eat carrots.....they really like to attend hibachi parties)! ;D
;D ;D ;D
i love the idea of the polecats doin' come cookin. do you think today they would use some george forman grills?
Of course!
It's all about maintaining that slim figure. ;)
(Incidentally, ferrets and polecats actually need high amounts of fat in their diet for it to be a healthy diet.)
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Ferret Research: http://ferretknots.blogspot.com/
Ferret Resources: http://nippynihon.blogspot.com/
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I just started working at a vet/boarding facility and we were talking about the pros/cons of raw diets today because there is a hairless rat terrier boarding with us right now that eats a raw meat diet. While I agree that this makes more sense logically than cooked meat, what about bacteriologically (is that a word...?). What's the risk of E.coli, Salmonella, etc.?
At the risk of whatever, I would say that animals' digestive tracts are way different than ours, not least in the area of flora. If a dog can eat something rotten out of the garbage dump and show no ill effects (and our dogs used to do this), I don't think we need worry about raw meat that's been chilled etc.
I'm not advocating letting dogs eat rotten garbage, you understand. I'm just saying they can digest a LOT of things that would put a human away.
The "kibble tree" made me laugh...whenever my DH has taken American friends of mine to our parks etc. they are always asking him, "What's this plant? What's that tree?" As a city boy he has NO knowledge whatsoever of flora or fauna. He will look at them steadily and say, "Oh that's a broccoli tree....that's a lettuce tree...." etc. rather than say "How the --- do I know???" ;D
I just started working at a vet/boarding facility and we were talking about the pros/cons of raw diets today because there is a hairless rat terrier boarding with us right now that eats a raw meat diet. While I agree that this makes more sense logically than cooked meat, what about bacteriologically (is that a word...?). What's the risk of E.coli, Salmonella, etc.?
Never heard of that as a serious, real problem.
The only people that are cautioned are the immune-impaired.
Other than that, just common sense: wash your hands and pick up leftovers. Altho many natural-feeders say their ferrets will eat 2-day old hardened meat that they stashed with no problem. Consider what happens in nature - a bff catches a rabbit twice it's size. It DOESN"T eat it all at once and there's no refrigeration in the great outdoors yet they aren't keeling over from 'old' meat.
Personally, I always picked up any leftovers after 24 hours if it wasn't eaten because of the smell.
Domestication has not been shown to have caused massive changes to the digestive system (of ferrets). So just because the ferret is domesticated doesn't mean that now processed food is somehow better for it. Processed food is a relatively new invention.
If you are refering to humans...
Neither is the rest of the world keeling over from germs and most of us aren't living in the sterile conditions often found in America. (I know it's a joke in Europe and Asia about Americans being so clean. ;) No one is being mean, it's more like awe--"WOW! Americans are so obsessed with cleaniness! Why?!?" ) There was a study not so many years ago where they considered that because of this super-sterile environment, American (children) tended to get sick more than in other certain countries (we're not talking third-world here. we're talking equivalently well-off countries). They postulated that is was precisely because of this over sterilzation that children did not develop natural immunity to organisms that commonly exist around them and hence were prone to more sicknesses.
besides, consider the most recently germ scares - they were related to contaminated VEGETABLES, not meat. I believe they said "If you suspect anything, just wash it and it's fine". I'm pretty sure that was the advice on the news, but don't quote me on that.
So as with so many things, just use common sense and you'll be fine.
Heck, this even came up recently on my Natural Ferrets group-- we all get kisses yet we're all still living! I even let my guys drink out of my water glass without a second thought. No feet allowed tho. >:(
BTW - a raw meat diet is NOT a balanced diet for any meat-eating carnivore. (FYI: the Panda is in the carnivora class but rarely if ever eats meat.) Bones and organ meats are also essential. Also, in ferrets, fur and feathers act as 'cleaning brushes' for the intestines.
That was a lot to cover, but you get the general idea.
cheers! ;)
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Ferret Research: http://ferretknots.blogspot.com/
Ferret Resources: http://nippynihon.blogspot.com/
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I was actually wondering about the animals themselves getting some sort of bacterial food poisoning (I'm much more of a germ-a-phobe with my cats than I am about me... ???). I didn't know if domestication had made them more susceptible to bacterial food poisoning; I forgot about the whole "dogs eat garbage/poo" thing because I have cats and they know better ;)
I even let my guys drink out of my water glass without a second thought. No feet allowed tho. >:(
my cats will drink out of glasses but i never understood the whole "let's put our feet in there!" thing. one cat will put her feet in and drink off her paw or just bat at the water and make a mess for me to clean up.
My guys love to play in the water so I figure a glass is just a little 'pool' to them. ;)
Altho I swear Yersi-hime was taking revenge on the wine, the way she tried to bat at it. I think she got bubbles up her nose o r something, but she looked ticked at that wine,like "why don't you taste good?!? TASTE GOOD d^^n you!!!"
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Ferret Research: http://ferretknots.blogspot.com/
Ferret Resources: http://nippynihon.blogspot.com/
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