nutrition - cats and dogs Flashcards
What are the natural feeding behaviours of cats?
Strict carnivore
Eat lots of small meals in a day (12-20 meas)
Takes 24 hours to replenish 6% of bodyweight
What are the natural feeding behaviours of dogs?
Voluntary omnivores
Can eat daily energy needs in 1 meal
Replenish 6% dehydration in 1 hour
Why are dogs better at digesting carbohydrate than cats?
- Pancreatic amylase = 3 times higher than in cats
- Better able to adapt to high levels of starch
- Can regulate rate at which SI absorbs monosaccharides in response to varying carbohydrate levels, cats cannot.
Why do cats require more niacin (vitamin B3) than dogs?
- Don’t convert tryptophan to niacin (vit B3)
- found in high quantities in meat/fish
- Cats require >4x more niacin than dogs
Why do cats require more niacin (vitamin B3) than dogs?
- Don’t convert tryptophan to niacin (vit B3)
- found in high quantities in meat/fish
- Cats require >4x more niacin than dogs
What species requires dietary preformed vitamin A?
- Cats don’t have ß-carotenase enzyme
- Preformed vitamin A is only found in meat products
What species needs a dietary source of vitamin D?
- Dogs need vitamin D.
- Get rickets without dietary vitamin D
What species needs a dietary source of vitamin D?
- Dogs need vitamin D.
- Get rickets without dietary vitamin D
Why do cats need taurine?
- Cats cannot synthesise taurine from amino acids, dogs can
- Needed as an intermediate step in bile formation
no taurine = no bile salts - only found in meat
Why do cats need high quality protein?
If low quality - affects microbes in GIT and results in loss of taurine.
Why do cats need dietary arachidonic acid?
- Cats don’t have the enzyme to convert linoleic acid to arachidonic acid
- Dogs do
What is the difference between soluble and insoluble fibre?
Soluble = fermented as a food source for bacteria in large intestine (e.g. cereal grain’s cell walls)
Insoluble = provides bulk to help move waste products out of intestine.
What is the difference between soluble and insoluble fibre?
Soluble = fermented as a food source for bacteria in large intestine (e.g. cereal grain’s cell walls)
Insoluble = provides bulk to help move waste products out of intestine.
What are the 3 reasons that dogs need fibre in their diet?
- Weight Management
*Food high in fibre = dogs feel fuller - Better stool quality (well formed)
- Assists anal sac gland
Bulkier stool = more pressure on anal sac glands = help express themselves with no issues
How do you calculate the carbohydrate content of a pet food?
Write % of protein, fat, fibre, moisture and ash from the packet
Add up + take the total away from 100.
