Lecture 4a - Lifecycle nutrition of cats Flashcards
What do nursing kittens depend on the queen for?
- food
- antibodies
- warmth
- hygiene
Why is body temperature poorly regulated in nursing kittens?
Lack of insulation, body fat, and generally immature.
- body temp is poorly regulated during first 4 weeks
- Queen maintains temperature and humidity of nest box
- hyperthermia as detrimental as hypothermia
When is it essential for kittens to consume colostrum?
Within 12 hours after birth
- ~16 hours after birth passive immunoglobulin transfer stops
- This is how maternal antibodies are transferred to the kitten; needed because their immunity has not kicked in yet
Describe the general composition of colostrum.
HIGH antibody (protein) content
- Protein and lipid levels decline from day 1 to 3
Low lactose level
- increases as lactation continues
High DM content
What are the consequences of failure to consume colostrum?
Increased risk of morbidity and mortality because the kitten will have no internal immunity and is too young to build up its own innate immunity.
NOTE: after 24hrs the antibodies are still in the milk but the passive transfer system in the kitten is discontinued.
What is the name of the discontinued passive transfer system?
cap closure
What is complete nutrition for nursing kittens?
Milk
Why is milk sufficient for NORMAL growth and development of kittens?
- water, protein, fat, lactose, minerals and vitamins
- high levels of arginine and taurine
- essential fatty acids
- milk DHA concentration reflects queen’s intake
What is DHA? What are some sources?
DHA is one of the polyunsaturated fatty acids very important for brain development together with APE
- found in marine life
- milk DHA concentration reflects queen’s intake
Is milk sufficient to maximize growth rate?
NO!
- evidence in bone development, insufficient for skeletal calcification
- Ca:N ratio (index of unmineralized bone) reduces during suckling
What are 3 positive non-nutritive factors found in milk?
- increase food digestion
- increase neonatal development
- increase immune protection
What happens as lactation progresses?
- increase in milk energy, protein, lactose, Ca and P levels
- decrease in Cu, Fe and Mg
- Zn remains constant
What are examples of growth factors?
Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1)
- produced by the liver and locally in adult animals when an animal is well fed
- also present in MILK to stimulate the development of the gut wall; makes sure the gut is properly prepared for its digestive and absorptive role
How does cat’s milk compare to ruminant milk in terms of protein?
Cat milk is richer in proteins
What is the relation between milk protein and growth rate?
Species that grow the fastest have the highest protein density in milk
Does energy content of milk increase or decrease with progressing lactation?
Increases
What could influence energy requirements?
- thermoneutral (aka temp)
- growth rate
- body wt
- activity level
- fur (poor insulation capacity at birth)
- # of kittens; a group can cuddle for heat
What is the CHO requirement for nursing kittens?
No CHO requirement established
Why might overfeeding with cow’s milk be detrimental to a kitten?
Improper nutrient balance; less protein and Ca & P
How does milk aid in immunity?
Milk provides local immunoglobins in gut (IgA
What should be used to feed orphan kittens?
Milk replacer
- lactose as a purified ingredient
- highly digestible proteins
- highly digestible fats
What happens during weaning? When does it start and when does it end?
- Queen starts avoiding kittens
- Kittens start eating increasing amounts of food
- Starts 3-4 weeks of age
- Completed 6-10 weeks of age
What does late weaning allow for?
More time for immune system maturation
- decrease in kitten mortality in post weaning phase
What happens if weaning is forced?
Stressful event in kitten’s life
- increased morbidity and mortality in post weaning period
- reduced immune defense
Kittens have a small stomach volume, how would you meet their energy requirements?
Need to consume small, frequent quantities to meet energy requirements. You might increase the energy content so they can eat less and get adequate energy.
What is the first food to offer to a kitten to encourage weaning?
Moist food with water or milk replacer
- by 6-8 week: kitten will learn to eat dry food
Semi-moist food promotes highly acidic urinary pH, why? What are the consequences?
Acids in canned food to reduce bacteria growth.
Wet food the cat is consuming is acidic which can be consequential to kittens:
- metabolic acidosis
- impaired bone mineralization
- limited amounts of semi-moist treats are ok
What are the nutrient requirements for a kitten who is 8 wks of age until 10-12 months?
Growing kittens!
Nutrient requirements = maintenance + growth
- growth slows with nutritional deficiencies
Are protein requirements high or low at weaning for growing kittens?
High
- decrease gradually to adult level
Higher requirement for sulfur AA than other species
What is Docosahexenoic acid (DHA) important for?
Neural development; in conjunction with EPA
What ingredients will contain DHA and EPA?
Marine life
Does fat digestibility increase or decrease with age? Why?
Increases because
- lymphatic system matures
- increase in bile production
- increase in lipase activity
Happens between 9-17 weeks of age
How might you ameliorate low fat digestibility using ingredients?
Switch from SA to polyunsaturated FA
Is urinary PH higher in adult cats or kittens? What does this tell us?
Urinary pH is greater in adult cats fed the same food
- Kittens should not be fed acidifying diets (anything less than 6.2) because they may end up with a reduced growth rate and risk of calcium oxalate crystal development
What might be a benefit or consequence of CHO or fiber?
FIBER
- insoluble fiber helping with constipation
- soluble fiber acts as prebiotic to stimulate healthy bacteria in the gut
What are potential implications of a high protein:CHO ratio during weaning?
~22.5% CP is the recommended allowance but many diets have up to 40%
- high protein reduce healthy bacteria
- protein fermentation occurs and presents itself as diarrhea
What are the nutrient requirements of a nursing kitten?
- milk essential
- more than simply nutrients
What are the nutrient requirements of a growing kitten?
- increase energy
- increase protein
What are the nutrient requirements of an adult cat?
- increase protein
- increase fat
- decrease P
What are the nutrient requirements of a senior cat?
- stable energy and fiber
- increase protein
- increase fat
- decrease P
Describe the feeding behaviour of cats
- Cats hunt solitarily, strictly carnivorous
- Cats eat 12-24 meals/day equally spaced through 24 hrs
- Cats hunt during the day/night and sleep during the day/night
- Cats adjust food intake to diet energy density
- Cats adapted to periods of water unavailability
Why is it difficult to assess normal behaviour?
Due to DOMESTICATION behaviours aren’t natural anymore
What is the eating behaviour of cats?
- Strong predatory drive (instinct)
- cats stop eating to make a kill
- owners may confuse predatory behavior with hunger - very sensitive to the physical form (including texture), odor and taste of foods
- Some evidence food preference can be inherited aka learned from mom
What kinds of flavors do we want in cat food?
Find flavors reflecting nutritional characteristics of natural food
- animal products greatly enhance palatability
- not attracted to taste of sugars
- averse to some flavors derived from plant products
- poorly accepts food with powdery, sticky and very greasy textures
Is eating behaviour learned and inherited?
YES!
- easily influence food preference of kittens with queen present
- neophobic vs neophilic
How do cats consume prey?
Begin at the head
- dictated by the direction of hair on prey
- oral tactile sensation important to normal feeding behaviour
Preference for animal tissue
What might be reasons for cats eating ingesta?
- easy access to high quality protein and fat
- might also be some vitamins and fermented fiber
Why is coprophagia behaviour in queens with kittens < 30 days of age normal?
Protective behaviour
- making sure there is no smell of feces
Why do cats eat plants or grass?
- natural behaviour
- grass is not digested
- acts as local irritant, sometimes stimulate vomiting
- may serves as a purgative to eliminate hair or other indigestible material
- response to nutritional deficiencies, boredom, taste preference
What can cause anorexia in cats? How can it be addressed?
- note: few days of inappetence is not detrimental to otherwise healthy cat
- malnutrition, reduced immune fxn, increased risk for hepatic lipidosis
- can be caused by stress, unacceptable foods or concurrent disease
- change to highly palatable food
What is the mechanism of hepatic lipidosis?
When cat is fasting, FA can release from adipose and accumulate in liver at a rate faster than the cat can get rid of
What influences fixed-food preferences?
- food type in first 6 month of kitten’s life influences food preferences
- happen when only fed a very limited number of foods
What is learned taste aversion?
- adaptive response
- linked to negative digestive tract experiences
- can last up to 40 days
What is polyphagia?
Excessive food consumption
- can be mediated by disease, drugs, psychological stress and underfeeding
- presence of wt loss or gain is of key diagnostic importance
Ultimately who controls the eating behaviour of cats?
The owner
