Is it safe to give a ferret dog food if your out of ferret food and cat food?

Question

except i have no moeny at the moment to get the ferret food so is it ok?

I don't have enough money at the moment to get them more ferret food I'm only 16 and my parents are being really weird and won't give me money to get more food for now so don't yell that I'm not responsible if I'm only 16 years old! It's Just a question and yes it is ok to feed them food I asked a fricken vet!

Answer 1

First of all dog food will not Hurt a ferret in any way it is not good to give them as their main source of food but if just as a temporary fix tell you get to the store it will not hurt them my ferrets when they get up love to eat my dogs food so if you are feeding it tell you just run can get to the store it is fine, I have had to do this once or twice i went to give them the dinner at night and didn't realize or should i say forgot i was out of food so i gave enough to get them rough the night i have owned ferret for over 10 year have yet have one die because they ate my dogs food for any one to say that must not know ferrets because they love to eat other food other then theirs they think they are getting an extra treat some time i think they like my dogs food more than theirs own food high qulilty cat food is fine also before iams sold in stores that was what i fed my ferrets before ferrets got as popular as they are now you could hardly find ferret food so cat food was the only choice you had as long as it is a high quality food your fine.

Answer 2

Running out of ferret specific food for whatever reason can happen to the best of us and feeding a ferret dog food until the next day is better than starving the poor fert, as they have a fast rate of metabolism and the drop in blood sugar would be worse than eating a low quality food for ONE day, BUT to run out because you don't have any money??? What are you doing?
Ferrets are high maintenance. What will you do when the lil guy needs to see a vet? Get on the internet again and ask for advice cause you don't want to spend the money on vet bills?
Please consider giving up your ferret unless you plan on being more responsible about things. You did not run out of food over night, a ferret doesn't eat a whole bag in two days even, so you knew you were going to need more food. Your ferret deserves better than this. Find him a better home, please, at least until you can AFFORD him again.
I would go without myself just to feed my ferts, matter of fact, before I got the job I have now, I have had to do that. Pets depend on us to do the right thing.......DO IT!!!
Maybe you can borrow a few dollars from someone.MAXIMUM KITTEN is a food that is available at Walmart for under $4.00 and is actually rated higher than Marshall Farms Premium. Get you a bag of it, you don't have to spend $15.00 on some fancy stuff.
PS: Contrary to what lil Miss Jody has to say above, DO NOT FEED IT FRUITS AND VEGGIES. Ferrets are lacking a part of the small intestines that is needed to digest them properly. They are CARNIVORES!!!

Answer 3

No!!! It is not safe to give a ferret dog food! It's hard for their bodies to digest. I'm sorry to say, but if you can't even afford ferret food, you shouldn't have a ferret. They need a lot of attention.

Answer 4

Dog food does not have enough meat protein for ferrets.. for a day or two it wont hurt but in the long run it will - even cat food isnt enough - ferrets require good quality KITTEN food at the least (good qualitly means one with chicken meal or lamb meal as first ingrediet - grocery stores DO NOT sell good quality kitten food)

Answer 5

Not dog food for very long. Ferrets fed only dog food will eventually die of malnutrition. Obligate carnivores have special requirements for several nutrients missing from commercial dog foods. In addition, ferrets are unable to digest the high levels of carbohydrate in dog food. They need to get most of their calories from simple carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Ferrets have such a short intestinal tract they can't eat very much at a time, and therefore need a concentrated diet. They should get most of the calories in their diet from fat, the most concentrated source of energy.

Answer 6

It might not be. I don't know much about ferrets, but I don't think you should feed it dog food. Just buy more ferret food, it's that easy.

Answer 7

Ferrets will eat either hard or canned dog food - my friends' ferrets do and it is safe !

Answer 8

Raw meats or raw egg YOLKS! Just the yolk, the white could cause their hair to fall out if fed too much. Raw meats include chicken parts (liver, heart, or just your average regular people-eating chicken muscle)! That is actually what you're supposed to feed them in the first place, but that is expensive and crazy ridiculous for people who are queazy, We feed our 2 boys raw chicken meat once a month, quite a bit (you have to kind of force feed them to make them realize it's good), and once a week we give them one or two egg yolks, raw or hard-boiled! I prefer raw because Hobbes runs off with his food and lets it get moldy... eugh.

Answer 9

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even cat food isn't good for them. Get your Butt down to Petco and buy some food for your poor ferret.

Answer 10

oh yes mine will pefer cat food anyday . i also feed it fruits and vegies.so if you have any greenbeans try that they love them