Guava fibre characterization and effects on digestibility, fermentation products, gastrointestinal transit time and palatability of dry diets for dogs.

The use of fruit fibres as a way of reusing industrial waste is attractive and necessary, increasing the efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of the industry. This study characterized guava fibre as a fibrous ingredient and evaluated its effects when included in extruded diets for dogs on nutrient digestibility, faecal traits, fermentation products, gastrointestinal transit time and palatability. Four diets were formulated: CO (control diet, no fibrous ingredients added), GF3 (3% guava fibre), GF6 (6% guava fibre) and GF12 (12% guava fibre).

Environmental risk factors in puppies and kittens for developing chronic disorders in adulthood: A call for research on developmental programming.

Many dogs and cats are affected by chronic diseases that significantly impact their health and welfare and relationships with humans. Some of these diseases can be challenging to treat, and a better understanding of early-life risk factors for diseases occurring in adulthood is key to improving preventive veterinary care and husbandry practices. This article reviews early-life risk factors for obesity and chronic enteropathy, and for chronic behavioral problems, which can also be intractable with life-changing consequences.

2022 ISFM Consensus Guidelines on Management of the Inappetent Hospitalised Cat.

Practical Relevance: Inappetence may have many origins and, as a presenting sign or observation in the hospitalised patient, is common in feline practice. Nutritional assessment of every patient is encouraged, to identify the need for, and appropriate type of, intervention indicated. The impact of malnutrition may be significant on the feline patient, perpetuating illness, delaying recovery, slowing wound healing and negatively impacting gut health and immunity.

Commercial vs Homemade Cat Diets: What you need to know.

Practical Relevance: A feeding plan recommendation for cats, both healthy and with disease, should include diet choice, amounts to feed and the feeding method. Diet choice can be complex owing to the abundance of products, sometimes with conflicting marketing messages, and the prevalence of information with no scientific basis. It is important to be aware of the specific challenges of both commercial and homemade diets.

Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Disease Associations of Overweight and Obesity in Dogs that Visited the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis from January 2006 to December 2015.

Overweight and obesity contribute to a variety of disease processes and negatively affect quality of life in dogs. A considerable number of epidemiological studies performed in a variety of canine communities revealed varied prevalence, and identified associated risk factors, including neutering. Associations between excessive body weight and certain diseases, including orthopedic diseases, were also reported.

Prevalence, risk factors, and disease associations of overweight and obesity in cats that visited the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis from January 2006 to December 2015.

Overweight and obesity are commonly diagnosed in domestic cats, and undermine cats' quality of life directly or indirectly via various disease processes known to be associated with overweight and obesity. Epidemiological studies have reported varied overall prevalence among different feline populations, and commonly identified risk factors such as neutering. However, disease associations were not consistently reported.

Calcium, Phosphorus, and Vitamin D in Dogs and Cats: Beyond the Bones.

Calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D are nutrients that play a key role in maintaining normal organ, cell, and tissue function. Much is known about their role in bone metabolism, but these nutrients are also important in renal health, urinary tract disease, and multiple other organ systems. It is nutritionally important to meet the physiologic requirements for each of these nutrients, but the interplay between them should also be considered.

Adiponectin as a sepsis biomarker in dogs: Diagnostic and prognostic value.

Background: Adiponectin (ADPN) is an adipocytokine with insulin-sensitizing, vascular-protective, and anti-inflammatory properties for which concentration changes occur in response to inflammation. Little is known about the regulation of ADPN and the impact of this adipocytokine in septic dogs.

Objective: We aimed to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of ADPN vs other traditional acute-phase proteins (APPs), such as albumin (ALB), haptoglobin (HPT), fibrinogen (FBG), ferritin (FRT), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in dogs with naturally acquired sepsis.

The diagnostic and prognostic value of paraoxonase-1 and butyrylcholinesterase activities compared with acute-phase proteins in septic dogs and stratified by the acute patient physiologic and laboratory evaluation score.

Background: Sepsis is a complex syndrome that involves an increased oxidative stress status and dysregulation of cholinergic neurotransmission. Paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities have been identified as significant biomarkers to monitor such disorders in human septic patients.

Objective: We aimed to determine the diagnostic and prognostic value of PON-1 and BChE vs other traditional acute-phase proteins such as albumin (ALB) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in septic dogs.

Evaluation of the nutritional adequacy of recipes for home-prepared maintenance diets for cats.

Objective: To evaluate home-prepared maintenance diet (HPMD) recipes for cats and compare the nutritional profiles with National Research Council (NRC) recommended allowances (RAs) for essential nutrients for adult cats.

Design: Evaluation study.

Sample: 114 recipes (obtained from books and online sources) for HPMDs for cats.

Determination of mammalian DNA in commercial canine diets with uncommon and limited ingredients.

Over-the-counter (OTC) limited ingredient canine diets could be reliable alternatives to veterinary therapeutic formulations for the diagnosis and management of adverse food reaction (AFR). However, the possibility of undeclared ingredients jeopardizes the efficacious use of OTC options for medical purposes. The objective was to determine the presence of undeclared ingredients in OTC canine dry diets marketed as limited or single protein source diets.

Evaluation of the Prevalence and Risk Factors for Undernutrition in Hospitalized Dogs.

Hospitalized dogs are predisposed to undernutrition, which can potentially affect outcome. This study evaluated the prevalence of undernutrition in hospitalized dogs (measured as loss of body condition score, BCS and body weight, BW) and studied the risk factors that affect nutritional status, and outcome (discharge or death). Data was collected prospectively during 9 months from 500 hospitalized dogs with a hospitalization length longer than 24 h in a veterinary teaching hospital in Spain.

Weight loss improves arterial blood gases and respiratory parameters in obese dogs.

Canine obesity is a common medical disorder and a known risk factor for associated diseases; it can seriously influence various physiological functions, thereby limiting the longevity of the animal. In this study, we evaluated potential respiratory alterations in obese dogs before and after being subjected to caloric restriction to decrease their body weight by 20%, and compared those dogs with control dogs with ideal body condition score. The animals were divided into three experimental groups: GI (obese dogs; n = 11); GII (obese dogs after weight loss, same animals as in GI); GIII (control dogs; n = 11).

Effect of enzyme supplements on macronutrient digestibility by healthy adult dogs.

Some enzyme supplement products claim benefits for healthy dogs to compensate for alleged suboptimal production of endogenous enzymes and the loss of enzymes in commercial pet foods secondary to processing. The objective of the current study was to determine macronutrient and energy digestibility by healthy adult dogs fed a commercial maintenance diet with or without supplementation with plant- and animal-origin enzyme products at the dosage recommended by their respective manufacturers. A group of fourteen healthy neutered adult Beagle dogs (average age 8 years) was divided into two equal groups and fed the basal diet alone and then with either the plant- or animal-origin enzyme supplement in three consecutive 10-d periods; the treatment groups received the opposite enzyme supplement in the third period.

Prevalence of and risk factors for intraoperative gastroesophageal reflux and postanesthetic vomiting and diarrhea in dogs undergoing general anesthesia.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of intraoperative gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and postanesthetic vomiting and diarrhea, and to evaluate risk factors associated with these gastrointestinal disorders (GID) in dogs undergoing general anesthesia.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: University teaching hospital.

Scope of the Problem and Perception by Owners and Veterinarians.

Obesity is a common disease of modern dogs and cats. Dog and cat owners often do not realize their animal is affected. Some pet owners are skeptical of the diagnosis or rationalize the overweight condition of their pets.

Macronutrients in feline health.

Dietary macronutrients include protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Current nutritional recommendations establish minimums but not maximums for protein and fat but not for carbohydrates; thus, commercial feline maintenance diets have a wide range of macronutrient distribution depending on manufacturer, ingredients, and processing. There is growing interest and discussion, however, in defining the ideal macronutrient composition of feline diets to maximize longevity and health.

Preliminary study: voluntary food intake in dogs during tryptophan supplementation.

Tryptophan, a precursor of important molecules such as serotonin, melatonin and niacin, is an essential amino acid for dogs. In pigs, tryptophan supplementation has been shown to induce a significant increase in food intake. The aim of the present study was to assess whether long-term tryptophan supplementation increases voluntary food intake in dogs and to observe whether this was accompanied by a change in serum ghrelin.

Effect of water content in a canned food on voluntary food intake and body weight in cats.

Objective: To determine whether water content in a canned food diet induces decreases in voluntary energy intake (EI) or body weight (BW) in cats fed ad libitum.

Animals: 16 sexually intact male domestic shorthair cats.

Procedures: Maintenance EI was determined for 2 months in 10 weight-stable cats consuming a control diet (typical colony diet).

Cats are able to adapt protein oxidation to protein intake provided their requirement for dietary protein is met.

Cats require more dietary protein than noncarnivorous species. Earlier work showed that cats lack the ability to regulate hepatic urea cycle enzymes in response to dietary protein concentration. We thus hypothesized that cats are unable to fully adapt protein oxidation to protein intake, particularly at low-protein concentrations.

Energy restriction results in a mass-adjusted decrease in energy expenditure in cats that is maintained after weight regain.

Dietary energy restriction (ER) is used to treat obesity in cats but it is often unsuccessful. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ER results in a sustained decrease in mass-adjusted energy expenditure (EE) that may oppose weight loss and promote weight regain. EE and body composition were measured in 10 adult neutered cats at 3 time points: baseline (obese cats), during weight loss (40% ER), and following weight regain.

Chemical composition and energy content of chickens in response to different levels of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Two experiments were performed to study the effect of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on abdominal fat pad weight and chemical composition of broilers. In Experiment 1, different fat sources were blended in different ratios keeping added fat level constant (9%). In Experiment 2, PUFA gradient was obtained by increasing the level of inclusion (2, 4, 6 and 8%) of PUFA-rich oil.