In this article, we will be taking a look at the best kitten food for ferrets available on the market. Many people choose to use a food designed for cats or kittens rather than a specifically designed ferret food.
As these foods have been designed for different animals with slightly different requirements, many of them end up falling short when it comes to ferret nutrition. Due to the different requirements of a kitten to an adult cat, kitten food is usually closer to the nutrient profile a ferret requires but again, may kitten foods are far from the mark and may require you to supplement your ferret’s diet with other food. That said, there are a small number of regular cat foods you can feed your ferret.
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What To Look For In A Kitten Food For Ferrets
Although it changes slightly from source to source, in our opinion, the ideal macronutrient breakdown for a pet ferret is as follows:-
- At least 30 percent protein.
- At least 15 percent fat.
- No more than 5 percent fiber.
Try to ensure that the protein is sourced from real meat with minimal, ideally zero vegetable or dairy protein substitutes. Carbohydrates will ideally not be included in the food mix as ferrets are unable to process them as an energy source. Our post on why ferrets need fats goes into more detail on how ferrets will use fat as their energy source.
Although the three kitten foods below have been checked to ensure their nutrient profile can support a ferret you may want to add in additional food sources to supplement your pet’s diet. Our ultimate food list for ferrets contains a large number of suitable foods that you can use for diet supplementation.
The Best Kitten Food For Ferrets
- 43.5 percent protein.
- 20.5 percent fat.
- 3 percent fiber.
The three main ingredients in the food mix are cage-free chicken, turkey meal, and salmon Meal but it does include a very small amount of peas. Although some ferret owners may choose to avoid this kitten food due to its minority pea content we feel the rest of the macronutrient profile more than makeup for it.
It contains a large amount of animal protein that helps your ferret lead a healthy life. Over 80 percent of the ingredients in the food mix are from real animal parts or healthy nutritious oils. It also contains a large amount of natural DHA to help your pet ferrets brain and eye health.
There are reports from ferret owners that this food mix has helped their ferret’s coat become thicker and healthier as well as solve some digestive issues. Other ferret owners have reported that their ferrets seem to enjoy the food mix and eat it without issue.
FAQs
Question – Whats the shelf life of this product?
Answer – Due to the distribution process, there is no exact answer for this but it usually ranges between eighteen and twenty-four month.
Question – Is Nature’s Variety Instinct Original really grain free?
Answer – Yes, it is 100% grain free.
Question – Where is Nature’s Variety Instinct Original produced?
Answer – It is proudly made in the USA.
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The Second Best Kitten Food For Ferrets
- 40 percent protein.
- 20 percent fat.
- 3.5 percent fiber.
The main ingredients in the food are deboned chicken, chicken meal, and turkey meal. Again this product does contain peas and in a larger amount than the Natures Variety product above. Additionally, Blue Buffalo who make this kitten food were involved in legal issues regarding the ingredients in their products back in 2014. Allegations ranged from our right lying to accidental mislabeling of products. With the legal issues out the way now we would imagine that they are taking extra care to ensure that the ingredients in their foods are exactly as advertised.
This report on this food mix from a ferret owner goes into detail on how it helped clear up some digestive issued for their pet ferret. This report from a ferret owner confirms that their ferret is performing find on the food with its ideal macronutrient profile.
FAQs
Question – Is BLUE Wilderness really 100% grain free?
Answer – Yes, Blue Buffalo source high quality, grain-free ingredients to ensure that the food mix remains grain free.
Question – Where is BLUE Wilderness produced?
Answer – It is made in the United States of America.
Question – Where can I see a full nutritional breakdown of BLUE Wilderness?
Answer – The image below shows the nutritional breakdown.
Reports
- This report comments on how this is a great food for ferrets. They then go on to comment on how their pet ferrets coats are looking much better after moving them over to BLUE Wilderness.
- This report comments on how BLUE Wilderness is much cheaper when purchased on Amazon instead of their local pet store. They then go on to comment on how their pet ferret loves BLUE Wilderness and comment on how their ferret smells less since being switched over.
- This report comments on how BLUE Wilderness has the best macronutrient breakdown for ferrets out of all of the foods they have checked. They go on to mention how it is better than some of the food mixes out there that are actually designed specifically for ferrets and that it is cheaper than most ferret foods.
- This report comments on how their ferret loves BLUE Wilderness. They go on to mention how there are some better choices out there but that BLUE Wilderness is widley available due to it being a major brand being easy to get hold of.
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The Third Best Kitten Food For Ferrets
- 45 percent protein.
- 18 percent fats.
- 3 percent fiber.
Its three main ingredients are deboned turkey, whitefish meal, and deboned chicken. Similar to the two products above, this also contains peas in a higher quality than the other two products and that is why we placed it third in our list.
This report on this food mix from a ferret owner confirms that it is veterinary approved for ferret consumption. They also comment on how it is often more nutritional than some low-quality ferret foods. That said, our recommended ferret food is high-quality and meets the recommended nutritional requirements for your pet ferret.
FAQs
Question – Is Wellness CORE Natural really 100% grain free?
Answer – Yes, it sources its carbs from vegetables instead of grains.
Question – Where is Wellness CORE Natural produced?
Answer – It is made in the United States of America.
Reports
- This report comments on how their local veterinarian approved Wellness CORE Natural as a food source for their ferrets. The report goes on to comment on how after researching Wellness CORE Natural, they discovered that it is actually a better food source than many commercial ferret foods out there.
- This report comments on how they picked up Wellness CORE Natural for their pet ferrets after doing some research. Just like the report above, they also comment on how they discovered Wellness CORE Natural is better for your pet ferret than many of the food mixes marketed as ferret foods.
- This report comments on how they picked up Wellness CORE Natural for their ferret who is a very picky eater. They go on to comment on how it is actually a cheaper food mix than the ferret based foods of a similar quality. They also mention how their pet ferret almost pulled the bowl out of their owner’s hands to start eating the food the first time it was offered it.
- This report comments on how they moved their pet ferret over to Wellness CORE Natural after researching how good its ingredients are for ferrets. They go on to mention how since being moved over to Wellness CORE Natural, their ferret seems to have more energy and does not smell as much.
- This report comments on how they moved their ferrets over to Wellness CORE Natural after doing some research. They go on to mention how their ferrets love the food mix and that it is a good food source due to its high quality ingredients.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product From Ferret Owners!
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Transitioning Your Ferret Over To A Kitten Food
One common issue we see people report when trying to transition their pet ferret from one food type to another is that the ferret will either refuse to eat the new food or suffer excessive digestive problems.
Our post on how to make a ferret eat new food can help you if you are in this situation. We cover a number of points as well as the most popular method for getting any pet to switch from one food to another.
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Image Licensing
Shared under Creative Commons – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
CheepShot – Ferret – https://flic.kr/p/px72nk
Max Moreau – Milo – https://flic.kr/p/agLG31
