Cat and dog nutrition - what you really need to know
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A useful guide on how to choose a diet for a pet and how to filter the good advice from the bad or misguided!
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Cat and dog nutrition - what you really need to know
- 1. Cat and dog nutrition What you really need to know Dr. Jo Gale BVetMed CertLAS MRCVS WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
- 2. The WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition Confidentiality notice: This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Incorporated.©Mars 2016
- 3. WALTHAM is the global fundamental science centre providing scientific support, credibility and knowledge to Mars Petcare Confidentiality notice: This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Incorporated.©Mars 2016 Fundamental science behind our brands
- 4. Confidentiality notice: This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Incorporated.©Mars 2014 WALTHAM™ Caring Science
- 5. How do owners choose what to feed? This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
- 6. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 So much advice available • Vets • Breeders • Magazines • Websites • Blogs • TV programmes …..but how can you tell the good advice from the bad?
- 7. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 The truth, the whole truth and….evidence Veterinary or animal nutritionists employed - Nutrition PhD or “board certified” in veterinary nutrition Publications in scientific journals Evidence based nutrition Well designed scientific studies
- 8. What’s the best diet for a pet? …..it depends! As long as nutritionally complete and balanced, then the “best” diet is based on – individual health needs and preferences of pet – preferences and budget of their owner This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
- 9. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Complete and balanced nutrition What does “complete” mean? • There are approximately 40 essential nutrients for dogs and cats
- 10. Complete and balanced nutrition What does “balanced” mean? Minimum requirement Maximum requirement Intake Toxicity SAFE RANGE Deficiency OPTIMUM
- 11. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Depends on species and lifestage
- 12. Essential nutrient requirements ` Cats • Arginine and taurine – amino acids from protein • Vitamin D • Vitamin A • Vitamin B3 • Arachadonic acid – from fat ` Dogs • Arginine – an amino acid from protein • Vitamin D ` Humans • Vitamin C Food for dogs will not necessarily meet the needs of cats because the cat must have meat/fish in the diet (obligate carnivore) and requires additional essential nutrients
- 13. Formulating a complete and balanced diet – easy? • Studies have found problems with nutritional adequacy of home-prepared diets Freeman LM, Michel KE.(2001) Streiff E.L., Zwischenberger B., Butterwick R.F., et al. (2002) Larsen J.A., Parks E.M., Heinze C.R., et al. (2012) Heinze, C. R., Gomez, F. C., & Freeman, L. M. (2012) This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
- 14. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 2013 study Evaluation of recipes of home-prepared maintenance diets for dogs Stockman J1, Fascetti AJ, Kass PH, Larsen JA. Hypotheses • Most recipes would not be balanced • Recipes by non-veterinarians would have a higher number of (and more severe) deficiencies • Most recipes would require assumptions to be made about nutrient levels
- 15. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 What was analysed? • 200 recipes for canine maintenance diets – 2 veterinary textbooks – 9 pet care books for owners or veterinarians – 22 websites – 64% by veterinarians, 36% by laypersons
- 16. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Results • 184/200 (92%) necessitated one or more assumptions • 169/200 (84.5%) did not provide specific feeding instructions • 13/200 (6.5%) included garlic or onion • 190/200 (95%) had at least one deficiency • 167/200 (83.5%) had multiple deficiencies
- 17. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Results Common deficiencies – Zinc (69%) – Vitamin D (65%) – Choline (64.5%) – Copper (54%) – EPA plus DHA (53%) – Vitamin E (45%) – Calcium (35%)
- 18. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 What about raw diets? • Commercial or home-prepared • Fresh, chilled, frozen, freeze dried • Many are not balanced • Bones – foreign body, GI perforation • Benefits - digestibility?? • Recent studies have shown - salmonella in 20-48% of commercial raw diets tested, E. coli in 60%, clostridium in 20%
- 19. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Recent study on raw diets Raw red meat diets decrease faecal microbial diversity in the dog Nick Cave, DipACVN, PhD, MVSc, BVSc Massey University, New Zealand Introduction Several intestinal diseases of dogs are associated with reduced microbial diversity. It is hypothesised that strategies promoting diversity in healthy dogs might reduce disease risk. Conclusion A dietary change from conventional commercial diets to a raw meat-based diet rapidly and persistently reduced microbial diversity in healthy dogs. The implications of this reduced diversity for health remains to be determined.
- 20. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 What about grains?
- 21. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 What about food allergies? • True food allergies result in an immune system response – rare • Food intolerances more common, most common culprits – Beef – Dairy – Wheat • However, this does NOT make these ingredients unsuitable for all pets! Most pets are unaffected, therefore no need to avoid them
- 22. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Pet food myths!
- 23. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 How to give advice on pet nutrition • Open minded • Evidence based not trend-led • Consider essential needs of ALL pets • Then consider specific needs of individual pets e.g. increased moisture, lower calorie density, free from certain ingredients • Then consider specific desires of individual owners e.g. organic, grain free
- 24. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Join the conversation on Twitter Follow us @waltham_science More info at www.waltham.com
- 25. Which of these should be avoided in a cat food? A. Organic B. Vegetarian C. Grain free D. With added vegetables E. Sugar free This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
- 26. Why is it important to feed puppy food until adulthood? A. Smaller kibbles B. Correct balance of nutrients for growth phase C. Lower protein D. More digestible E. Cheaper This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
- 27. Which of these factors is most important in a dog food? A. Organic B. Natural C. Grain-free D. Nutritionally complete and balanced E. Available in a variety of flavours This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
Editor's Notes
- So what is WALTHAM? WALTHAM is the global fundamental science centre providing scientific support, credibility and knowledge to Mars Petcare for over 50 years. But what is “fundamental science”? Fundamental science is research to broaden our scientific knowledge about the physiology, metabolism and behaviour of pets. Although the results may not immediately feed into a specific product they allow us to develop expertise and capabilities that will ultimately either be used in product or help us develop future products. Although it is situated in the UK, WALTHAM provides science for all the global markets to support Mars Petcare.
- At the heart of WALTHAM’s success is an approach that strives to look after their pets in an enriched environment with a high standard of care that ensures both their health and happiness. We call this the Caring Science approach The Caring Science approach means that WALTHAM scientists are always looking for innovative ways to obtain the research data needed without compromising pet welfare. Our reward-based training ensures that the tasks the pets carry out in order to complete a scientific study are a fun and rewarding experience. These methods offer massive benefits because they produce relevant results that can be transferred to pets everywhere through the brands of Mars Petcare
- Pet owners choose to feed their pets in many different ways. It may depend on whether they view their pet as another “human” member of the family, or whether they feel that dogs are the same as wolves and should eat the same kind of diet, or choose to feed a manufactured pet food such as kibble, cans or pouches Ultimately, most people are simply trying to do the best for their pet, because they love them and want to care for them. But what is the best diet?
- There’s certainly no shortage of advice these days, from the traditional sources such as vets, breeders and pet magazines, but now we also have a plethora of websites, blogs and social media articles about feeding your pet In fact, petcare is the most googled of all consumer categories! So, how can a pet owner tell the good advice from the bad (albeit well-meaning!)
- So, how on earth do you choose which advice to accept? The answer is to become a more discerning consumer, and look for evidence to back up the advice. What is the level of expertise of the person giving the advice? Not only experience in caring for pets but in their scientific knowledge of the nutritional needs of pets! What worked well for their own pet may not be the “best” for all pets. We see this in the human nutrition field too, all sorts of fitness trainers, celebrities and parenting experts with no nutrition training but a lot of passion for their own chosen way of eating, getting a lot of exposure through social media. Just look at the Sunday supplements – almost every week they are proclaiming the new “must have” diet – the silver bullet everyone is looking for to eat well and stay healthy (and usually, slim!) A pet food company should base their diets on scientific evidence, obtained through well designed scientific studies that have been critically reviewed by other experts through the process of peer reviewed scientific publication It’s also important to know who is formulating the diets, and what is their expertise? Any pet food company should employ at least one veterinary nutritionist (if not more!)
- But what do we mean by “complete”? A complete diet must provide all the essential nutrients the pet needs. An essential nutrient is one that the pet cannot make in their own body and so it must be eaten in the diet Essential nutrients differ between species, cats have a few more essential nutrients than dogs but the two together have about 40 essential nutrients. That’s not easy to get right Humans also have essential nutrients and, as you might imagine, they are not the same as for dogs and cats (vitamin C)
- And what about the term “balanced”? It’s not enough just to ensure that a diet contains an essential nutrient – it has to have the right amount. Every nutrient has a safe range, below which would result in a deficiency and above which would result in toxicity And not just that, some nutrients interact with one another such that the ratio between the two is important. So, as you can see, it’s not an easy job and very unlikely to happen by accident
- Complete and balanced is different for cats and dogs and also differs for puppies and kittens compared to adult pets Puppies and kittens need more protein and more calories (per kg bodyweight) than adults, and the precise quantities and ratios of certain micronutrients can be vitally important
- And the science shows that it often goes wrong
- Quantitative analysis - formulation software For vague instructions Leading supplement brands were used For substitutions – quantities of different possibilities were averaged
- Emphasis on palatability and presentation/ philosophy Lack of use of supplements Misuse of supplements (dog and cat requirements are different to people) Use of ingredients that give very high or very low caloric density Use of ingredients that are very high in specific nutrients such as vitamin D or omega-3 fatty acids Lack of experience / knowledge Most don’t use appropriate software/ nutrition databases
- BalanceIT.com [free recipes by a boarded nutritionist (ACVN), require BalanceIT food supplement] Veterinary nutritionists- ACVN/ ESVCN Veterinary schools with a clinical nutrition service: UC Davis, Tufts, Penn, Munich, Missouri, etc Avoid: books, textbooks, other websites