Found a ferret. What can it eat?

[1acrefarm]

I have rabbit food, dog food and sweet feed. Can the little guy eat either of these until I get him back to his owner?

 

[Wifezilla]

They are omnivores so I would go with the dog food for a temporary measure. If you have him for more than a day or two, get real ferret food or cat food. Dog food doesn't have enough taurine in it.

 

[shelleyb1969]

Cat food would be a better choice if you had it...either canned or dry. My next choice from your list would be dog food...but that's not really good for them. Good luck!

 

[shelleyb1969]

I've also heard of people feeding them...well....ummmm...plain ol' boiled chicken.

 

[QuailHollow]

Actually, if I remember correctly Ferrets are a true carnivore with a 4 hour digestive system. A cat, for example, would be a true carnivore with a 6 hour digestive system. .. so there have been instances where ferrets do not do well on cat food because they cannot absorb the nutrition they need from it before it's passed out of their system.

Most pet shops carry a blend of food for ferrets, but a high quality cat food should be ok in a pinch. You can try a wet mixture of canned food as well.

Good luck!

 

[Wifezilla]

Ahhh...carnivore not omnivore. Doh! Need more coffee.

 

[QuailHollow]

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Unfortunately, he would probably starve to death on something like this. I'd go with the previous post and give straight boiled chicken if you have any!

 

[QuailHollow]

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We knew what'cha meant!

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

If you're in a pinch you can feed a ferret Iams Kitten food in the purple bag, only. I know many people who feed their ferrets this all the time, it's the only brand of cat food that they seem to do well on if you cannot afford or get actual ferret food.

 

[cutiepieacres]

Kitten food, all natural if possible with a high protien content is a great ferret diet and can be better than some petstore brand ferret foods....

I would suggest the chicken as well if you cant get kitten food.