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The study objective was to evaluate nutritional metabolomics in support of companion animal nutrition. The specific purpose was to identify metabolites that differed significantly (q-value

We investigated the ability of domestic cats to regulate the macronutrient composition of their diet when provided with foods that differed not only in macronutrient content but also in texture and moisture content, as typically found in the main forms of commercially manufactured cat foods. Cats were provided with foods in different combinations (1 wet + 3 dry; 1 dry + 3 wet; 3 wet + 3 dry) in three separate experiments. Within each experiment cats were offered the wet and dry food combinations in two (naive and experienced) diet selection phases where all the foods were offered simultaneously, separated by a phase in which the foods were offered sequentially in 3-day cycles in pairs (1 wet with 1 dry). Using nutritional geometry we demonstrate convergence upon the same dietary macronutrient composition in the naive and experienced self-selection phases of each experiment as well as over the course of the 3-day cycles in the pair-wise choice phase of each experiment. Furthermore, even though the dietary options were very different in each of these experiments the macronutrient composition of the diets achieved across all experiments were remarkably similar. These results indicate that a mammalian obligate carnivore, the domestic cat, is able to regulate food selection and intake to balance macronutrient intake despite differences in moisture content and textural properties of the foods provided.

Data from intravenous (i.v.) glucose tolerance tests suggest that glucose clearance from the blood is slower in cats than in dogs. Since different physiological pathways are activated following oral administration compared with i.v. administration, we investigated the profiles of plasma glucose and insulin in cats and dogs following ingestion of a test meal with or without glucose. Adult male and female cats and dogs were fed either a high-protein (HP) test meal (15 g/kg body weight; ten cats and eleven dogs) or a HP+glucose test meal (13 g/kg body-weight HP diet+2 g/kg body-weight d-glucose; seven cats and thirteen dogs) following a 24 h fast. Marked differences in plasma glucose and insulin profiles were observed in cats and dogs following ingestion of the glucose-loaded meal. In cats, mean plasma glucose concentration reached a peak at 120 min (10·2, 95 % CI 9·7, 10·8 mmol/l) and returned to baseline by 240 min, but no statistically significant change in plasma insulin concentration was observed. In dogs, mean plasma glucose concentration reached a peak at 60 min (6·3, 95 % CI 5·9, 6·7 mmol/l) and returned to baseline by 90 min, while plasma insulin concentration was significantly higher than pre-meal values from 30 to 120 min following the glucose-loaded meal. These results indicate that cats are not as efficient as dogs at rapidly decreasing high blood glucose levels and are consistent with a known metabolic adaptation of cats, namely a lack of glucokinase, which is important for both insulin secretion and glucose uptake from the blood.

We report feeding studies on adult domestic cats designed to disentangle the complex interactions among dietary protein, fat and carbohydrate in the control of intake. Using geometric techniques that combine mixture triangles and intake plots from the geometric framework, we: (1) demonstrate that cats balance their macronutrient intake, (2) estimate the composition of the target balance and (3) reveal the priorities given to different macronutrients under dietary conditions where the target is unachievable. Our analysis indicates that cats have a ceiling for carbohydrate intake, which limits ingestion and constrains them to deficits in protein and fat intake (relative to their target) on high-carbohydrate foods. Finally, we reanalyse data from a previous experiment that claimed that kittens failed to regulate protein intake, and show that, in fact, they did. These results not only add to the growing appreciation that carnivores, like herbivores and omnivores, regulate macronutrient intake, they also have important implications for designing feeding regimens for companion animals.

A charge made against feeding dry foods to cats is that the high carbohydrate (i.e. starch) content results in high blood glucose levels which over time may have detrimental health effects. The present study determined the post-meal concentrations of plasma glucose and insulin in adult cats (seven males and four females) and dogs (Labrador retrievers; four males and five females) fed dry diets with low-starch (LS), moderate-starch (MS) or high-starch (HS) levels. In a cross-over design with at least 7 d between the test meals, plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were measured following a single meal of a LS, MS and HS diet (209 kJ/kg bodyweight). Only the HS diet resulted in significant post-meal increases in plasma glucose concentration in cats and dogs although the time-course profiles were different between the species. In cats, plasma glucose concentration was significantly increased above the pre-meal concentration from 11 h until 19 h after the meal, while in dogs, a significant increase above baseline was seen only at the 7 h time point. Plasma insulin was significantly elevated in dogs 4–8 h following the MS diet and 2–8 h after the HS diet. In cats, plasma insulin was significantly greater than baseline from 3–7 and 11–17 h after the HS diet. The time lag (approximately 11 h) between eating the HS diet and the subsequent prolonged elevation of plasma glucose concentration seen in cats may reflect metabolic adaptations that result in a slower digestive and absorptive capacity for complex carbohydrate.