overview of nutrition for companion animals Flashcards
what are the storage forms of energy
- CHO - glycogen
- fats - triglycerides
- protein - no storage form, all functional tissue
what is the energy called that left and used by animal
metabolizable energy “calories”
what is RER
- resting energy requirement
- approx. of energy requirements needed for life
- reflects metabolically active tissues in body (lean tissue, organs, brain)
- even if overweight, animals still has RER b/c it’s lean body mass
what are the factors influencing energy requirements
- metabolic efficiency
- life stage
- environment
- lifestyle
how to calculate canine MER
maintenance energy requirement
MER = 1.2 to 1.5 (most are 1.2 - activity factors) X RER
RER = 70 X Wtkg^0.75
if overweight use estimate of optimal weight
how to calculate Feline MER
Formula 1: MER = 1.0 to 1.2 X RER
RER = 70 X Wtkg^0.75
Formula 2: MER = 50 x Wtkg
feline energy metabolism
cats are adapted to using protein for energy as opposed to carbohydrate
what are the 3 ways that nutrient content can be expressed
- as fed
- dry matter
- energy basis
what is as fed
how nutrient content is expressed on pet food labels and nutrients are given as a percent of the finished product by weight
what is dry matter basis
nutrients are given as a percent of the product by weight after the moisture content has been subtracted
what is energy basis
nutrients are expressed as units (grams, mg, IU) per 1000 kcals. protein, fat and CHO can be expressed as percent of total calories
what is the only meaningful way to compare the nutrient content of two foods
on an energy basis
what are the two ways to balance energy
- bulk limiting
- energy limiting
what is bulk limiting
animal gets full before eating all nutrients
what is energy limiting
- add energy to diet to make limiting
- animal might not eat as much food b/c extra energy is added
what is the moderate amount of protein for dogs
greater than or equal to 18%, less than 25%
what is the moderate amount of protein for cats
greater than or equal to 30%, less than 50%
what is the moderate amount of fat for dogs
greater than or equal to 20%, less than 30%
what is the moderate amount of fat for cats
greater than or equal to 30%, less than 50%
taurine
- essential AA for cats
- only found in animal tissues
arginine
essential AA added to dog and cat diets (not needed in humans)
what are the deficient AA in cereal grains
- leucine
- lysine
- methionine
- tryptophan
- taurine
what are the factors affecting minimum AA content of foods
- bioavailability and digestibility
- amino acid imbalances
- processing and storage losses
- energy density
- palatability
- health and environment of the animal
what happens if arginine is limited
get build up of ammonia
why is ornithine important
- intermediate from arginine
- needed in urea cycle to convert ammonia to urea
why do cats need taurine supplemented
the enzyme that converts cysteine to taurine has very low activity in cats
why is taurine needed
for bile acid conjugation
what are the clinical signs of taurine deficiency
- dilated cardiomyopathy
- retinal degeneration
- reproductive failure
canine taurine deficiency
- predisposed breeds (american cocker spaniel, newfoundland)
- low protein diets or diets deficient in sulfur-containing amino acids
- diets with poor protein digestibility
what are the two essential fatty acids
- linolenic acid n-3
- linoleic acid n-6
what essenital fatty acids are specific to cats
- arachidonic acid n-6
- eicosapentaenoic acid n-3
what is the end product of fatty acids
eicosanoids
what is the diet of wild canids
- prey
- insects and mollusks
- carrion
- plant material
dietary fiber
- “indigestible CHO” and lignin
- total fiber content of a food (TDF) is greatly underestimated by “crude fiber”
- non-nutritive but serves several important functions in GI tract
what are the factors influencing amount to feed
- maintenance
- gestation and lactation
- growth
- physical exertion
- environmental
what are the 3 methods of feeding
- free choice
- time restricted
- portion restricted
gestation calorie formula
- 1.1 to 1.3 X MER
- feed a growth/gestation formula
dog gestation energy requirement
increases during the last 3 weeks of gestation
cat gestation energy requirement
gradual increase in energy requirements throughout gestation
peak lactation energy requirement
- 2 to 5 X MER
- dogs: 100 kcal/# of litter/day above MER
growth feeding
- feed only a growth-tested ration
- feed according to body condition
- do not supplement
- portion restricted feeding (dogs)
what is the growth rule of thumb
puppies should gain 1-2 grams/day/# of anticipated adult body weight for the first 5 months
when should dogs be fed up to 50% of their adult weight
4-5 months old
