Diet and Nutrition of Cats and Dogs

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Diet and Nutrition of Cats and Dogs
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Diet and Nutrition

• Complete diets
• Cost
• Allergies
• Quality ingredients
• Weight management
• Special needs

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Nutrients

• Plants are composed primarily of fibrous
  carbohydrates, and store most of their reserve
  food as starch
• Animals consist mostly of proteins and lipids,
  and store most of their reserve food as as fat

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Water

• Animals have three sources of water
• Water which they drink
• Water ingested as a component of food and other
  drinks
• Metabolic water, which is derived from the
  digestive breakdown of carbohydrates, fats, and
  proteins.
• Metabolic water is the primary source of water
  for animals during hibernation

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Water

• Water has many functions
• Transports nutrients throughout the body
• Used in most biochemical reactions
• Helps regulate body temperature
• Elimination of body wastes
• Constituent of the synovial fluid that lubricates
  joints
• Animals will die more rapidly from lack of water
  than from lack of any other dietary substance

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Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrates are the major energy storage and
  structural constituent of plants
• They include
• Monosaccharides
• Disaccharides
• Oligosaccharides
• Polysaccharides
• Plant polysaccharides, starch and fiber are the
  principal carbohydrate constituents in
  manufactured petfoods

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Carbohydrates

• Major source of energy utilized for many body
  functions
• Essential for the metabolism of other nutrients

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Carbohydrates

• Monosaccharides
• Simple sugars that can be absorbed directly from
  the gastrointestinal tract include
• Glucose
• Principal carbohydrate used for energy
• End-product of starch
• Fructose
• Found in honey, fruits, and some vegetables
• Galactose
• Derived from the digestion of lactose

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Carbohydrates

• Disaccharides
• Two monosaccharide units linked together
• Sucrose (table sugar)
• Composed of one molecule of glucose linked with
  one of fructose
• Lactose (milk sugar)
• Composed of a molecule of glucose linked to a
  molecule of galactose

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Carbohydrates

• Disaccharides
• Digestion requires the enzymes sucrase and
  lactase
• Young animals have high levels of lactase and low
  levels of sucrase and thus should not be fed
  formulas containing table sugar during the first
  few weeks of life

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Carbohydrates

• Galactooligosaccharides
• Short chains of galactose and are found in
  soybeans
• Partially digested portion promotes the growth of
  beneficial colonic bacteria
• Polysaccharides
• Long complex chains of monosaccharide units
  linked
• Primary types
• Starch
• composed of soluble alpha monosaccharide
• Fiber
• composed of insoluble beta monosaccharide units

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Fats

• Dietary fat
• Concentrated source of energy, essential fatty
  acids and Fat-soluble vitamins
• Enhances palatability and gives desirable texture
  

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Fats

• Lipids
• Oils
• High percentage of short-chain or unsaturated
  fatty acids are liquid at room temperature
• Fats
• High percentage of saturated fatty acids and
  longer-chained fatty acids are solids at room
  temperature

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Fats

• Fatty acids
• Classified by size and number of double bonds
• Saturated
• No double bonds
• Monounsaturated
• One double
• Polyunsaturated
• More than one double bond

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Fats

• Most commercial dry dog foods for adult
  maintenance contain 5 to 10 fat
• Poultry is the most common source of fat used in
  dog and cat foods, although beef and pork lard
  are also used
• Corn, soybean, and safflower oils are the most
  commonly used vegetable fats in petfoods
• Fish oils and flaxseed are rich in omega-3 fatty
  acids

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Fats

• Dogs are more efficient than cats in digesting
  fats
• Excess dietary fat may promote obesity
• Overweight cats are more likely to develop
  diabetes mellitus, experience lameness, have skin
  disorders, and have a shorter life expectancy

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Protein

• Protein constitutes nearly 50 of the dry matter
  of an animals body
• Composed of amino acids attached to each other by
  peptide bonds
• amino acids are important as structural
  components of body tissues

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Protein

• 10 a.a. cannot be synthesized and are dietary
  essentials
• (PVT TIM HALL)
• Phenylalanine
• Valine
• Threonine
• Methionine
• Arginine

• Tryptophan
• Histidine
• Isoleucine
• Leucine
• Lysine

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Protein

• Taurine (not a true a.a)
• Roles in feline reproduction, bile acid
  conjugation, retinal function (vision), and
  normal function of the myocardium
• Cats cannot synthesize taurine and require a
  continual dietary source
• Present only in animal tissues
• Signs of taurine deficiency
• central retinal degeneration (resulting in
  blindness)
• dilated cardiomyopathy (heart failure)

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Protein

• Structural and functional roles proteins play in
  dogs and cats include
• Growth
• Tissue and cellular repair
• Enzymes
• Hormones
• Antibodies
• Carrier proteins
• Sources of energy

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Protein

• Symptoms of advanced protein deficiency include
• Decreased food intake
• Growth inhibition and/or weight loss
• Lowered levels of blood proteins
• Muscular wasting
• Emaciation
• Death

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Protein

• Physiologic states requiring protein intake above
  that needed for maintenance
• Growth
• Pregnancy
• Lactation
• Geriatric Age

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Protein

• Protein is the most expensive major component of
  companion animal diets.
• Raw materials of animal origin not suitable for
  human consumption constitutes used in formulating
  petfoods
• Animal meats are by-products
• Meat-packing
• Poultry-processing
• Fish-canning industries
• Important sources of high-quality protein,
  energy, and minerals.

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Protein

• Plant proteins have been a reliable source of
  nutrients in petfoods for decades.
• Soybean meal is the most common plant protein
  used in dog diets.
• Most other cereal proteins are low in the amino
  acids lysine, methionine, leucine, and
  tryptophan.
• Animal proteins are preferred in companion animal
  diets, especially those of cats