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Post by unclejoe on Feb 17, 2015 20:54:32 GMT -5
Since my post was tagged, I'd just like to repeat that we don't feed any kibbles that contain corn or peas. As a member of several forums and a mod of one for several years, I have read that a lot of cases of stones in ferrets occurred while the ferts were on grain free Zup. Evo contains peas, but I have not seen it blamed for stones. We also dropped one that was high in protein and fat and low carb but contained raisin juice as a flavoring (ultimate).
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Post by Celene on Feb 17, 2015 21:20:28 GMT -5
Has anyone seen/heard if Zupreem changed their recipe?When I google "zupreem peas" the description in the result on Zupreem's website indicates peas. But when you go to the pages for either of their ferret foods, peas are entirely absent from their ingredient lists. Interestingly enough, ferret.com still lists peas as ingredients so maybe they still have the "old stuff" in stock. I tried searching for any info on a recipe change but could find nothing. Of course even without peas, Zupreem is still TERRIBLE for ferrets and I would not in a million years recommend feeding it. I guess it will be telling whether ferrets eating that food continue to get stones or not.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2015 23:08:06 GMT -5
Maybe one day someone will conduct a legit study and we can have some solid answers. I think for now we should try and educate to stay away from Zupreem and keep in mind that there has been evidence of peas linked to bladder issues.
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Post by raynebc on Feb 17, 2015 23:09:03 GMT -5
Up to this point, probably several of us ferrents had pleaded with them to remove the peas. Late last year, I emailed them about the bad reputation their grain free formula had gained, looks like they were willing to change when enough consumers put the pressure on. It may not be very high end of the spectrum, but it's still better than some kibbles.
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Post by Celene on Feb 17, 2015 23:32:18 GMT -5
It's heartening to know that writing these companies really can help.
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Post by unclejoe on Feb 18, 2015 11:05:51 GMT -5
Up to this point, probably several of us ferrents had pleaded with them to remove the peas. Late last year, I emailed them about the bad reputation their grain free formula had gained, looks like they were willing to change when enough consumers put the pressure on. It may not be very high end of the spectrum, but it's still better than some kibbles. I did, too, but never got a reply. It would be nice to get an email saying that they DID react to consumer complaints. I also noticed that the regular formula contains flax seeds, which if I'm not mistaken, were blamed for the digestive issues with the reformulated Epigen.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2015 11:55:58 GMT -5
Unfortunately not all kibble companies will ever drastically improve their ingredients and as long as you're feeding your obligate carnivore food that contains ingredients they simply cannot digest then problems will arise. It's the unfortunate truth, and I'm hoping this post may shed some light on the fact that every kibble even "high quality" ones are going to contain fillers/fruits/veggies/grains of some sort in some extent. Are some better than others? Yes, of course. Does that change the fact that they all have fillers/preservatives/unnecessary additives? No, it does not. And being high quality also does not change the fact that ferrets are carnivores and food with all these fillers along with being cooked and drained of it's moisture just simply isn't good for them.
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Post by raynebc on Feb 18, 2015 16:26:12 GMT -5
I also noticed that the regular formula contains flax seeds, which if I'm not mistaken, were blamed for the digestive issues with the reformulated Epigen. I think it was chia seeds that were suspected to be the problem in the new Epigen formula. The digestive support version has flax seeds in it.
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Post by unclejoe on Feb 18, 2015 19:41:21 GMT -5
Ah, thanks for the correction. I KNEW it was seeds
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Post by Celene on Feb 18, 2015 21:30:58 GMT -5
Makes sense. In humans chia seeds help us stay "regular" so it only makes sense that it would do that in ferrets as well, but more magnified given their size and general tendency to get digestive upsets already.
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Post by raynebc on Feb 19, 2015 13:24:51 GMT -5
Zupreem wrote back confirming that they had re-evaluated their protein sources. They didn't indicate they had any proof that peas are the problem but admitted that peas are highly suspected to be problematic so they removed the peas.
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Post by Celene on Feb 19, 2015 16:16:48 GMT -5
Aaaand of course replaced it with potato protein, aka another cheap, non-meat source. Oh well. At least they're listening to emails and writing back.
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Post by raynebc on Feb 19, 2015 17:33:02 GMT -5
Luckily kibble is not my ferrets' problem to deal with as of almost 5 months ago.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2015 11:52:23 GMT -5
Well Done, @julesalot. I haven't seen this thread before. I will sticky it. :thumbsup:
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2015 16:52:37 GMT -5
Thanks Steph!
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