Introduction

Introduction

"Health and nutrition; more closely related than ever before"

Feeding a cat may appear ar first glance to be a straightforward exercise. However, this assumption requires some qualification, because cats are strict carnivores with nutritional requirements that differ from those of dogs. In addition, cats generally have very clear dietary preferences that need to be considered. Furthermore, if the cat is ill or has a higher pathological risk, things can sometimes get really complicated.

This Encyclopedia of Feline Clinical Nutrition endeavors to answer the main questions of our time about feline clinical nutrition. The authors were asked first and foremost to summarize the current state of knowledge about cats. When the published data was too succinct, it was sometimes necessary to cite results obtained from other species, while always clarifying where their studies come from and utilizing them in the specific context of feline nutritional characteristics, to avoid incorrect extrapolations.

The following list of questions does not pretend to be an incisive tool to test your knowledge, but you may be interested in how many questions you can answer – without looking at the book.

1. How do you determine the body weight of an obese cat?
2. Which cat breeds are most likely to present dietary sensitivity?
3. What are prebiotics?
4. In the absence of clinical sign of hepatic lipidosis, which blood parameter is used to evaluate hepatic lipid accumulation?
5. What two characteristics should be prioritized in a diet for a diabetic cat?
6. What is the most common cause of hyperlipidemia in cats?
7. Should severe sodium restriction always be recommended in cats with chronic kidney disease?
8. How do you combat both struvite and calcium oxalate stones at the same time?
9. How do you definitively diagnose taurine deficiency?
10. What are the agents active against the development of dental calculus?
11. What are the essential criteria for selecting food for cats with cancer?
12. What is the best feeding route for a cat in intensive care?
13. Why can’t cats distinguish sweet taste?
14. What effect is produced by a dramatic increase of omega-3 fatty acids versus omega-6 fatty acids in the diet?

Each of the 14 chapters of the Encyclopedia is filled with information that will enable you to check, correct, refine and perhaps improve your answers.

We hope that during your reading you will find many other subjects of interest and that nutrition will become an even more important aspect of your diagnostic and therapeutic approach.

Pascale Pibot, Denise Elliott and Vincent Biourge

1. How do you determine the body weight of an obese cat?

• It’s a simple calculation based on the condition of the body
• By bioelectrical impedance analysis
• By indirect calorimetry

2. Which cat breeds are most likely to present dietary sensitivity?

• The Persian
• The Maine Coon
• The Siamese and related breeds

3. What are prebiotics?

• Non-digestible carbohydrates that are fermented in the gut by bacteria
• Microorganisms that have a beneficial effect on the intestinal flora
• Sources of non-fermentable fiber

4. In the absence of clinical sign of hepatic lipidosis, which blood parameter is used to evaluate the lipid accumulation level in the liver?

• Bilirubin
• Cholesterol
• Alkaline phosphatase

5. What two characteristics should be prioritized in a diet for a diabetic cat?

• High fiber content and low starch content
• High protein content and low starch content
• Low protein and starch content

6. What is the most common cause of hyperlipidemia in cats?

• Primary idiopathic hyperlipidemia
• The animal is not fasted before the sample is taken
• Diabetes mellitus

7. Should a severe sodium restriction always be recommended in cats with chronic kidney disease?

• Yes, it helps prevent hypertension
• Yes, it activates the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system
• No, it can activate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system

8. How do you combat both struvite and calcium oxalate stones at the same time?

• By encouraging diuresis
• By acidifying the urine pH
• By limiting the dietary consumption of phosphorus

9. How do you definitively diagnose taurine deficiency?

• By dosing taurine based on the results of muscle biopsy
• By measuring the taurine level in the plasma
• By measuring the taurine level in the whole blood

10. What are the agents active against the development of dental calculus?

• Polyphosphate salts
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• B-group vitamins

11. What is the essential criteria for selecting food for cats with cancer?

• High glutamine concentration
• Palatability
• High protein content

12. What is the best feeding route for a cat in intensive care?

• The parenteral route
• A combination of parenteral and enteral route
• The enteral route

13. Why can’t cats distinguish sweet taste?

• Because cats do not have any salivary amylase
• Because the sweet taste receptors are deactivated
• Because cats rarely consume sweet food

14. What effect is produced by a dramatic increase of omega-3 fatty acids versus omega-6 fatty acids in the diet?

• Immunostimulant effect
• Immunosuppressant effect
• No effect

Answers
1-a, 2-c, 3-a, 4-c, 5-b, 6-b, 7-c, 8-a, 9-c, 10-a, 11-b, 12-c, 13-b, 14-b
How did you do?

• More than 10 correct answers: well done, you’re going to enjoy this book
• 7 - 10 correct answers: not a bad score, but you can do better
• Fewer than 7 correct answers: this book could teach you a lot!