Feline Nutrition through the Lifecycle

1
Feline Nutrition through the Lifecycle

• Maintenance, Gestation, Lactation

2
Wild Cat Behavior

• Primary ancestor small, African wild cat Felis
  libyca
• Not intermittent feeder like larger wild cats
• Feeds frequently throughout the day by catching
  small rodents
• Solitary animal
• Lives with other cats only during mating season
• Result eats slowly and is uninhibited by
  presence of other animals

3
Domestic Cat Behavior

• Consumes food slowly
• Does not exhibit social facilitation
• Free-choice feeding
• Cats nibble throughout the day
• Cat will eat 9-16 meals/day (23 kcal/meal)
• FYI field mouse has caloric value of 30 kcal

4
Food Consumption

• Remember as in the dog, food intake is governed
  by energy requirement!

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Nutrition in Pregnancy and Lactation
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Prebreeding

• Remember before breeding
• Queen should be in good health
• Not be overweight or underweight
• Screened for any genetic faults/anomalies

7
Gestation

• Weight gain pattern is slightly different
• Linear increase in BW beginning around 2nd week
  of gestation
• Weight loss at parturition accounts for only 40
  of weight gained during pregnancy
• Remaining 60 is body fat that will be lost
  through lactation
• Preparation for demands of lactation

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Gestation through Lactation
Birth
Breeding
Weeks of Pregnancy
Weeks of Lactation
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What to Feed

• Diet intended for reproduction throughout
  gestation and lactation
• Amount of food should gradually increase from 2nd
  week of gestation until parturition

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What to Feed

• At end of gestation, queen should be receiving
  25-50 more food than normal maintenance needs
• Free-choice feeding generally works well
• Prevent obesity!

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Lactation

• Remember, stress of lactation is determined by
• Nutritional status at parturition
• Weight at parturition
• Litter size
• Stage of lactation

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Lactation

• How much to feed (similar guidelines as dog)
• 1.5 ? maintenance during week 1 of lactation
• 2 ? maintenance during week 2 of lactation
• 2.5 to 3 ? maintenance during week 3-4 of
  lactation
• Another general rule extra 100 kcal ME/lb of
  litter she is nursing

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Feeding during Weaning

• Similar to dogs
• Queens will wean at 6-10 weeks of age
• Will need to decrease FI during weaning to stop
  milk production
• Remember, queen should not lose more that 10 of
  her BW during lactation
• Affect rebreeding potential

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Nutritional Care of Neonatal Kittens
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Neonates

• Remember, kittens, like puppies are immature at
  birth
• Rely on dam for everything
• Orphans must be cared for extensively
• Milk replacer should mimic mothers milk
• More calories from protein and fat than lactose
• Different from cow milk

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Composition of Cat Milk
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Feeding during Growth
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Growth

• Most rapid growth occurs during first 6 months
• Period of rapid tissue accretion and organ
  development
• For cats, no breed-specific nutrition as in dogs

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Energy Requirement
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Protein

• Higher than maintenance animals
• More protein to build new tissue
• High quality and highly digestible protein
• Optimal levels
• 30-36 of ME as protein for growing kittens
• Higher than dogs (25-29 of ME)

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Pet Food

• Remember like dogs, growing cats have higher
  requirements than adult felines
• Yet, smaller stomach and fewer teeth
• Diet must be highly digestible to meet
  requirements
• Overfeeding is a problem in cats too!
• Lead to obesity later in life

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Feeding during Growth

• Feed high quality, commercial cat food designed
  for growth
• Normal feline behavior results in frequent
  consumption of many small meals throughout the day

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Feeding during Growth

• If adequate exercise (play time) is provided,
  growing kittens can self-regulate energy intake
  when fed free-choice
• Do not tend to over eat like dogs
• In general, excessive caloric intake and
  accelerated growth rates are not common problems
  in growing cats
• Exception not enough exercise or feeding highly
  palatable diet