Urinary excretion of advanced glycation end products in dogs and cats.

The present study was conducted with privately owned dogs and cats to investigate whether a relationship exists between the dietary AGEs and the urinary excretion of AGEs, as indication of possible effective absorption of those compounds in the intestinal tract of pet carnivores. For this purpose, data were collected from both raw fed and dry processed food (DPF) fed to dogs and cats, through spot urine sampling and questionnaires. Raw pet food (RF, low in AGE diets) was fed as a primary food source to 29 dogs and DPF to 28 dogs.

Retorting conditions affect palatability and physical characteristics of canned cat food.

The effects of different temperature and time conditions during retorting of canned cat food on physicochemical characteristics and palatability were examined. For this purpose, lacquer cans containing an unprocessed loaf-type commercial cat food were heated in a pressurised retorting system at three specified temperature-time profiles (113°C/232 min, 120°C/103 min and 127°C/60 min) to equal a similar lethality ( value = 30). Physicochemical properties (viscosity, texture, particle size, pH) were determined, and a 10 d three-bowl palatability test was performed with ten European shorthair cats.

Dietary nutrient profiles of wild wolves: insights for optimal dog nutrition?

Domestic dogs diverged from grey wolves between 13,000 and 17,000 years ago when food waste from human settlements provided a new niche. Compared to the carnivorous cat, modern-day dogs differ in several digestive and metabolic traits that appear to be more associated with omnivorous such as man, pigs and rats. This has led to the classification of dogs as omnivores, but the origin of these 'omnivorous' traits has, hitherto, been left unexplained.

Practical approach to determine apparent digestibility of canine diets.

A practical approach to determine apparent faecal digestibility using privately owned dogs may be a useful tool in evaluating differences in nutrient digestibility between dogs with various life stages. The aim was to develop a simple method that would suit such studies using the whitening agent titanium oxide (TiO2) as an indigestible marker. Forty privately owned, healthy male and female dogs of various breeds were included.