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ANSC 464 - Companion Animal Nutrition > Lecture 3b - Nutrient Requirements of Cats > Flashcards

Lecture 3b - Nutrient Requirements of Cats Flashcards

1
Q

What is the definition of an adult cat?

A

Cats reach adulthood in ~12 months
- can live less than or equal to 20 yrs
- cats near 7 yrs of age are “older”

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2
Q

What age group of cats are considered young to middle-aged? What does this tell us?

A

1-7yrs
- able to tolerate metabolic and physiologic distresses
- ex. great ability to deal with a lot of N excretion from excess protein

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3
Q

What are our feeding goals with an adult cat?

A
  • meet maintenance requirements
  • maximize longevity and quality of life
  • reduce the risk of disease
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4
Q

A finite water requirement for cats has not been established, so how is it described?

A
  1. Adjust water intake to diet composition; if there are more of these, increase water intake:
    - DM content
    - protein
    - sodium
  2. Conserve water by forming highly concentrated urine
    - risk of kidney stones and feline urinary tract disease
  3. Requirement varies with physiologic and environmental conditions
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5
Q

What are 3 main ways how cats at maintenance will lose body water?

A
  1. Feces
  2. Urine
  3. Breath
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6
Q

How much water is recommended for cats per kcal ME?

A

1 mL water
- allow cats to self-regulate
- prevention of urinary problems/crystals
- important relation btw nutrition and health for vats

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7
Q

What are 3 sources of water for a cat?

A
  1. food
  2. drinking water
  3. metabolic water
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8
Q

What are 3 additional factors that would influence a cat’s water requirement?

A
  1. temperature aka the environment
  2. diet composition
  3. lactation
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9
Q

What would influence a cat’s energy requirement?

A
  • size
  • activity
  • sex and neuter status
  • age
  • environment
  • breed (fur vs no fur)
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10
Q

What is the thermoneutral zone of a cat?

A

~30 to 38 degrees celsius
- in this zone, there is no change in energy requirements by the cat to maintain this body temperature
- above this zone the cat may need to spend more energy to get rid of excess heat; below this zone the cat needs to spend more energy to increase energy which is converted into heat

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11
Q

How would protein catabolism effect thermogenesis?

A

Heat increment would increase
- due to deamination (energy released as heat)
- urea synthesis
- more metabolic pathways being used

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12
Q

Dietary thermogenesis in cats is similar to dogs and humans, what is it?

A

~10% of ME

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13
Q

What is metabolic body weight? Why is it important?

A

Metabolic body weight is a description of the total mass of metabolic body tissue. Important to establish the MER (maintenance energy requirement) and prevent the cat from bring obese.

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14
Q

What is the most accurate interspecies metabolic body weight for cats?

A

BW^0.67

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15
Q

What is the equation for metabolic energy requirements for a domestic lean cat?

A

100 kcal ME x kg BW^0.67

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16
Q

What might be reasons for the range of energy requirements in exotic cats?

A
  • different rates of protein turnover
  • have to measure when captive = different activity level, different level of stress
  • different shapes of the animal
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17
Q

Why is body condition scoring important?

A
  • make an assessment of should we feed more, less or are we feeding a correct amount
  • think about reproduction, want the cat to be an ideal body score
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18
Q

What might be even better than a body condition scoring system?

A

The system is subjective; might use a scale to have a measurement of mass or use ultrasound to get a measurement of body mass of protein vs fat tissue

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19
Q

What are the safe upper limits of select CHOs (g/kg DM diet) for cats? 1. Glucose or sucrose; 2. lactose or raffinose; 3. fructo-oligosaccharides; 4. cellulose

A
  1. 50-150
  2. 50
  3. 7.5
  4. 100
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20
Q

What is a problem that cats have, that dogs don’t, when it comes to digesting carbohydrates?

A

Cats have a limited capacity to metabolize certain sugars
- toxicity with as little as 5.6 g galactose/kg BW/d
- low adaptation of disaccharidases at brush border; effectively utilize some monosaccharides

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21
Q

Is there a known optimal starch inclusion level for the cat diet?

A

From the cat’s perspective NO; from a kibble manufacturing perspective it is known

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22
Q

Why is there a decline of lactase activity from birth to an adult cat?

A

Cat is drinking milk at birth, mom transfers energy via lactose so kittens need high lactase activity. If you don’t have as much lactose in the diet from an energetic perspective it doesn’t make sense to continue lactase activity.

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23
Q

Due to what anatomical structures is resistant starch (fiber) fermentation limited?

A
  1. small colon
  2. cecum
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24
Q

Why is a small amount of resistant starch (fiber) recommended?

A

Tied to prebiotic activity
- natural foods of cats contain less than or equal to 1% dietary fiber
- recommended less than or equal to 5% dietary fiber for good gut heath, stool quality, and ease of vomiting up hairballs

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25
Q

Why is resistant starch (fiber) included in food for weight control?

A

More resistant starch = more fermentation in the gut = SCFA in gut is sensed and GLP-2 (incretin) is released = sends satiety signal to the brain so the cat will eat less food

26
Q

Why do cats have ~2x requirement for protein compared to adult non-carnivores?

A

Cat is using protein as an energy source

27
Q

If protein is in excess, what is it rapidly catabolized for?

A
  1. Energy for maintenance
  2. Energy for other nutrient needs (growth, lactation, reproduction)
  3. Excess energy stored as fat

*Little benefit of feeding large excesses of protein; excess may increase risk for renal disease

28
Q

Why should protein derive from animal tissues if no synthetic AA are available?

A

The cat needs Arg, Lys, Cys, and Taur and these are low in plant proteins

29
Q

Why is the efficiency of utilization of protein LOWER in cats than other species?

A

Due to lack of ability to conserve N and essential AA

30
Q

What are the most important AA in the diet for cats relative to protein requirements?

A

Arginine
Met + Cys
Taurine

31
Q

Why is protein intake so much lower in domesticated than feral cats?

A

Think about what they are eating; protein intake reflects the body composition of prey. Cat in the wild won’t find kibble so it is eating prey that doesn’t have much CHO
- less CHO = all the other things go up

32
Q

What are the 3 functions of fat for cats?

A
  1. energy source
  2. fat soluble vitamins
  3. palatability
33
Q

What are the 3 essential fatty acids for cats?

A
  1. linoleic
  2. arachidonic
  3. alpha-linolenic
34
Q

Can cats tolerate high amounts of dietary fat?

A

YES!
- they are high-density lipoprotein mammals
- fat digestibility = 84-99% in cats

35
Q

What is feline pansteatitis?

A

Occurs when there are too many polyunsaturated FA in diet. Body fat becomes inflamed.

36
Q

What 5 vitamins do cats require?

A
  1. Vitamin A (retinol)
    - unable to convert beta-carotene to vit A
    - liver is the main storage site = great to add to diet
  2. Vitamin D
    - skin has low concentrations of 7-dehydrocholestrol
  3. Thiamin (vit B1)
    - require ~4x as dogs
  4. Pyridoxine (vit B6)
  5. Niacin (vit B3)
    - high picolinic carboxylase activity prevents tryptophan conversion
37
Q

When might a Ca deficiency occur in cats?

A

In cats only eating non-supplemented meat

38
Q

What mineral in excess is more problematic than a Ca deficiency? Why?

A

P excess!
- lower urinary tract and renal disease
- lower dietary P level beneficial

39
Q

What is the ratio of Ca:P important for metabolism?

A

roughly 1:1

40
Q

Mg concentration in cat food is less than or equal to 1 g/kg diet, why?

A

To prevent FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease)

41
Q

What does excess Mg result in for a cat?

A

Too much Mg in diet = increased risk of struvite crystals being formed
- dependent on urinary pH; acidic pH dissolves struvite crystals

42
Q

What contributes to urinary pH?

A

Food ingredients
- calculate concentrations of cations and anions; increase pH is related to increased cations
- sulfur is key for lowering pH

43
Q

What is the ideal urinary pH for cats?

A

6.0-6.5

44
Q

What is the cat at risk of if urinary pH exceed 6.5?

A

struvite preciptation

45
Q

What are cats at risk of if urinary pH is less than 6.0?

A

Metabolic acidosis
- too much acid in bodily fluids
- promotes bone demineralization, urinary Ca and K loss
- increased risk of calcium oxalate urolithiasis

46
Q

What are the gradual behaviour, physical, and metabolic changes expected of older cats?

A
  • less active
  • decrease in lean body mass
  • lower metabolic rate bc there will be less protein turnover
  • decrease digestive fxn, immune response, glucose tolerance, renal fxn, smell, taste perception
  • less adaptable to metabolic and physiological perturbations
47
Q

What are the 4 goals of nutrition for older cats?

A
  1. maintain ideal body condition and wt
  2. adequate intake of nutritious food
  3. good hydration
  4. minimize disease
48
Q

What are 3 nutritional modifications that can be made to slow down aging?

A
  • decrease caloric intake
  • adequate amounts of other nutrients
  • difficult to achieve bc cat may want more
49
Q

How is water requirement affected in older cats?

A
  1. Impaired thirst sensitivity
    - aka cat may not drink sufficiently
  2. Decline in renal fxn
    - increased water losses due to incapability to concentrate urine
    - predisposition to dehydration
  3. Reduced ability to thermoregulate
  4. In healthy cats without increased losses: 200 to 250 mL/day
50
Q

What could you do to increase water intake in an older cat?

A

Feed more wet (canned) food

51
Q

What are the energy requirements (aka the relationship between age and MER) in older cats?

A

Decline in the relationship btw age and MER
- associated with a lower activity level of older cats

Fewer obese cats bc the cat is eating less

52
Q

What are the energy requirements of a very old cat?

A
  • wt loss becomes a concern; need to increase energy-density of food by adding more fat
  • need energy-dense diets; significant reduction in fat digestibility, slight reduction in protein digestibility, decline in pancreatic enzyme secretion
53
Q

What is the protein requirement of older cats?

A

Decrease in lean body mass
- no restriction of dietary protein
- maintenance of lean body mass, protein synthesis and immune fxn
- protein needs: older cats > younger cats

Additional benefit of moderate protein amounts
- palatability
- improved food intake and wt maintenance in very old cats

Feed high quality protein
- more animal protein; plant protein has a lower digestibility and isn’t in the ideal AA range

54
Q

What are the rat requirements of an older cat?

A

Risk of death increases x3 in obese cats so moderate to low levels of fat may reduce risk.

Fat sources should be highly digestible bc ability to digest fat decreases in older cats

Dietary fat improves palatability
- improves food and caloric intake in very old cats
- absorption of fat-soluble vitamins

55
Q

What is a common problem in older cats? How is it managed with fiber?

A

Constipation
- due to reduced water intake, limited activity and reduced colonic motility

[insoluble] fiber (<5%) can help in managing constipation

High level of fiber (>10%) can result in reduce nutrient digestibility and lower caloric density

56
Q

When does bone mass of cats decline?

A

Around 7yrs of age
- less bone mass needed for structural support

57
Q

Why does bone loss occur in older cats?

A

Due to buffering elevation in metabolic acids
- greater metabolic acid load and lower urinary pH

58
Q

What are the Ca and P requirements of older cats?

A

Moderate levels of available dietary Ca
- maintenance of bone mass

Reduction in dietary P levels recommended
- 30% of cats have kidney disease

59
Q

What is a “safe” urinary pH for older cats?

A

6.2-6.5
- reduced ability to compensate for acid-base alterations resulting from metabolism or diet
- food with less acidifying potential to avoid metabolic acidosis for older cats

60
Q

What are 5 dietary adjustments we need to be mindful of for older cats?

A
  1. energy requirement
  2. palatability of food
  3. digestibility
  4. fiber
  5. urinary pH

ANSC 464 - Companion Animal Nutrition (20 decks)

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