Nutrition and Dietetics

Nutrition should be adequate, balanced and healthy. For this, two elements are important as nutrient requirements and nutrient values of feeds. Nutrient requirements, animal-related causes, age, breed, race, pregnancy status, breastfeeding status, growth, disease, living conditions and body condition are basically variables based on the main reasons such as nutrient requirements and environmental reasons, living environment, environmental temperature, humidity, water access to water.

Cats and Dogs are in the group of carnivorous animals. Animals such as rabbits, rats, hamsters and iguanas are herbivores. Aquatic turtles are suitable for both carnivorous and herbivorous diets. Although the food preferences of animals vary, the basis of their diet is carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, mineral substances and water.

When cats and dogs meet their energy requirements, they stop eating. In order to understand whether the energy requirement is adequately met, the animal should be weighed at regular intervals and the food should be increased or decreased to keep it at the right weight. Energy varies according to age, live weight, pregnancy, breastfeeding status, gender and daily activity. In cases where it is considered to be roughly balanced, healthy and adequately fed: It is important to meet 300 calories for dog breeds less than 3 kg, 800 calories for breeds up to 12 kg, 1600 calories for breeds weighing 35 kg, 2800-3000 calories for breeds over 35 kg.

An adult animal’s body is 60% water, and this ratio is higher in juveniles.
The water lost through urine, faeces and respiration on a daily basis must be constantly replaced. There is a life-threatening situation for the animals that cannot reach the water for more than 3-4 days.

Water consumption should be calculated as ml/day for cats and dogs. The daily water requirement can be calculated as 2-3 times the dry matter consumption, 50-60 ml/kg body weight/day for dogs based on body weight, or 200 ml water for 200 kcal/day energy consumption.

It should be noted that cats drink less water than dogs according to their body weight. This is because cat urine is much more concentrated than that of dogs. However, this situation causes the formation of urinary stones in cats more frequently.

All animals need glucose. The source of carbohydrates is also important in the diet of dogs and cats. In cats and dogs, starch is easily digested carbohydrates, while compounds such as lactose and sucrose are less tolerable. For this reason, lactose intolerance, which may develop later in middle and advanced ages, may occur at all ages. Since the alpha amylase enzyme, which is necessary for starch digestion, is not secreted from the salivary glands of dogs and cats, starch digestion does not start in the mouth, unlike humans. When starch comes to the small intestines, it can be digested by pancreatic enzymes. The enzyme amylase, which is involved in the digestion of starch, is many times higher in dogs than in cats. For this reason, dogs will need a short period of time to switch to a new type of food, while in cats it will take weeks to switch to a new type of food due to the limited production of this enzyme. The main carbohydrate in milk is lactose, which makes up 20-25% of cat milk and is lower in value than cow’s milk. Since new-borns have limited lactose digestion capacity, the ability of kittens and puppies to digest cow’s milk or milk from other animals with a high lactose content will decrease. It manifests itself as lactose intolerance in patients with deficiency of the lactase enzyme, which individually helps to digest lactose.

Fats are 92% digestible in dogs and 76% in cats when given in various foods and forms and at different levels.

There are differences in fatty acids between cats and dogs. Cats cannot convert linoleic acid to other fatty acids, like lions can. Otherwise, symptoms of essential fatty acids deficiency will occur. Due to these characteristics, care should be taken to ensure that there is sufficient arachidonic acid in the diets specific to cats. Dogs can convert linoleic acid to arachidonic acid.

With a deficiency of essential fatty acids, cats can develop life-threatening diseases such as insufficient growth, scaling of the skin, thickening of the skin, hair loss, delay in blood clotting time, various lesions in the mouth and tongue, fatty liver, delay in wound healing, degeneration of the testicles, kidneys and adrenal glands, decreased survival rate in kittens.

Proteins are one of the basic substances of the body, consisting of amino acids. In general, the digestion of proteins is 87% in dogs and 82% in cats.

It has direct effects on neurological, cardiac and circulatory system, reproductive system and immune system functions and has antioxidant and neuromodulatory effects. Animal tissues, especially muscle, internal organs and brain contain high levels of taurine. Plants do not contain taurine. Taurine is excreted completely with urine and faeces. Therefore, it is important to consume them daily. Adult cats need more than kittens. Lactating cats have less tolerance to taurine deficiency, especially since it is excreted in milk.

Taurine is very important in cats. This is due to the lack of enzymes in the cat liver that converts methionine and cysteine to taurine, and while other animals can use glycine instead of taurine, this is not the case in cats. Taurine deficiency is mainly caused by feeding dogs food to cats. The protein level of dog food, the ratio of animal protein and, accordingly, the amount of taurine is low. During the periods when taurine deficiency occurs of irreversible retinal disorders in the eyes, pregnancy and lactation, death in the offspring, the birth of weak and vigorous offspring, and growth retardation in the surviving offspring are observed. While irreversible damage may occur in the heart, it will become vulnerable to various diseases that may occur as a result of suppression of the immune system.

Arginine also has a special case for cats. In arginine deficiency, excess nitrogen does not enter the urea cycle, and ammonia concentration in the blood rises rapidly. First, salivation, vomiting, ataxia and hyperesthesia are seen. It is fatal in severe cases. Even lack of water does not affect cats in such a short time.

Although cats and dogs have many similarities in terms of appearance and diet, they have great physiological and morphological differences. It is important to remember that basically cats are not small dogs.

Both cats and dogs are carnivores. However, the digestion of carbohydrates in dogs is higher than in cats. The protein ratio in the food of cats has to be many times higher than that of dogs.

Cats have to take Taurine and Arginine amino acids from outside through food. Dogs can convert these amino acids in their bodies.

At the same time, since cats cannot synthesize active vitamin A from pro-vitamin A, they need to get vitamin A from external animal foods.

Dogs need more vitamin D than cats. Especially during the milk feeding period, kittens can meet their needs for a long time as they store the vitamin D they get from their mother’s milk.

As can be understood from the above explanations, cats are obligate carnivores. And the share of raw materials of animal origin in their diet should be higher than that of dogs. Dogs, on the other hand, reflect more omnivorous characteristics compared to cats. Feeding cats with specially prepared foods for dogs will result in cats getting sick in the long run as a result of deprivation of essential amino acids and vitamins.

It can be preferred to feed ad libitum, that is, by leaving the food in a way that it can reach continuously or by dividing it into meals.

In ad libitium feeding, more food is kept in the food bowl than it can consume. So, the animal can eat as much as it wants. Its main advantage is that it is quick and easy. It can be preferred especially for animals in pregnancy and lactation periods. If food is always in front of them, cats consume 12-20 meals a day.

It should be remembered that cats should be fed more than once a day in case of feeding by dividing them into meals. According to the preferred type of food and the weight of the animal, the daily need should be calculated and distributed to the meals. Clean water should be available at all times.

In order to prevent vomiting, diarrhoea, gas and similar situations during the transition to a new food, the old and new food should be mixed in certain proportions and used for a certain period of time.

The enzyme amylase, which is involved in the digestion of starch, is three times higher in dogs than in cats. For this reason, while dogs need a period of two weeks to switch to a new type of food, it will take months to switch to a new type of food in cats due to the limited production of this enzyme.

It is recommended to get support from our veterinarians, as the transition from a prescription food group to a formula that will be used due to a specific disease will vary according to the condition of the disease.

In the types of food used for daily consumption, it is recommended that the ratio of new and old food, which is started at the rate of 1/4, is divided into weeks and a transition period of 4 weeks is provided.

If a food change is to be made as quickly as possible, the old and new food should be mixed for a period of at least 7 days.

Candy and Chocolate: Some cats and dogs love to consume candy and chocolate. However, unnecessary and excessive energy intake may result in excess weight and tooth decay. It should be remembered that Theobromine and Methylxanthine in chocolate are toxic to cats and dogs. As a general rule, dark chocolates contain more Theobromine and Methylxanthine than milky and white chocolates.

Drinks and foods containing caffeine: Caffeine contains Methylxanthine. After caffeine consumption, vomiting can be seen with diarrhoea, muscle tremors, abdominal pain and an increase in heart rhythm.

Onion and Garlic: Both have neither a protective nor a therapeutic effect against internal and external parasites. As a result of their consumption in large quantities, anaemia, fever, darkening of the urine, skin problems and death can occur as a result of the breakdown of red blood cells.

Grapes: Due to the polyphenolic substances it contains, it can cause diarrhoea, vomiting, tremor, decrease in urine output, liver and kidney disorders.

Mushroom: May cause conditions that result in diarrhoea, vomiting, coma and death.

Raw eggs, Raw meat and bones: Just like in humans, consumption of raw eggs can result in food poisoning as a result of ingestion of bacteria such as Salmonella and E.coli. In addition, consumption of raw eggs can cause skin and hair problems. Consumption of raw meat will lead to the consumption of parasite eggs and larvae that may be contained in the meat. Bone consumption can result in cats choking on their mouth or oesophagus.

Alcohol: Vomiting, diarrhoea, tremors, loss of balance, shortness of breath, and coma may occur in cats that consume alcohol. As a result of consuming raw dough, the dough will expand in the stomach, resulting in the production of alcohol by the yeasts in it.

Milk: Although cats and dogs love to consume milk, the digestion of lactose in milk will be challenging in animals that are adults and have not consumed milk for a long time. As a result of lactose intolerance, it can manifest itself with stomach upset and diarrhoea. Cow’s milk should not be preferred as breast milk, especially for kittens and puppies. A breast milk or milk replacer of its own type should be preferred. If this type of milk cannot be found, you can get support from our veterinarians.

Giving cats dog food: Although dog food is not toxic to cats, it lacks nutrients to meet cats’ needs. This long-term diet will produce symptoms of deprivation of essential substances for cats.

In addition:

Be careful to keep your cats and dogs away from this type of food and not to feed them with table scraps. It is important to protect them from the food sources they can get from the environment while they are circulating outside the home.

Prebiotics:

FOS (fructooligosaccharides), MOS (mannanoligosaccharides) and Inulin substances that cannot be used by the digestive system of dogs and cats are fermented by Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strain microorganisms, and a rapid increase in the number of these microorganisms is observed. Thus, it suppresses the growth of pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Clostridium and E.coli.

Pathogenic bacteria use starch, protein and other foods, causing the formation of gas and toxic substances, causing excessive gas or diarrhoea in animals. Probiotics such as FOS, MOS, Inulin indirectly contribute to the reduction of gas.

In addition, probiotics have cholesterol-lowering and immune-supportive effects.

Vitamins:

Although vitamins are added in balanced proportions in ready-made foods, the needs of individuals may differ. Vitamins that should be used daily may differ in each age type and in different individuals. The use of supplements containing Calcium, Phosphorus, Vitamins D and A, Omega 3 and 6, especially in puppies, will have positive effects on growth and development.

Wet Foods:

The diet of cats and dogs should be specially selected according to their age groups and body conditions. In animals fed only a dry type of food, deprivation of various essential amino acids or vitamins may occur in long-term use. For this reason, it is important to add wet foods to the nutritional preferences of especially obligate carnivorous cats. While some cats consume wet food as a habit, some may prefer only dry food. In such cases, supplementation with a different type of supplement may be considered instead of wet food.

PhD Veterinarian
Tuğrul Çağrı GÜL

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