Objectives: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the behavioural time budget for grooming and grooming patterns for shorthair and longhair cats, and to assess the effect of grooming behaviour on apparent digestibility of nutrients in domestic cats ( Felis catus) by comparing hair-included faeces and hair-removed faeces.
Methods: A total of 10 adult domestic cats, with a mean ± SD body weight of 4.3 ± 0.89 kg and a mean ± SD age of 3.5 ± 1.38 years, were used for behavioural observation. Cats were housed individually in stainless steel cages at the animal hospital. The cats' behaviour was recorded on a webcam videotaping system for one 24 h period; then, faecal samples were collected and analysed to measure apparent digestibility.
Results: There was no significant difference between longhair and shorthair cats in behavioural time budget for grooming and grooming patterns. The apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, crude ash, acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) of hair-removed faeces was significantly higher than that of hair-included faeces: about 6% ( P <0.01), 7% ( P <0.01), 14% ( P <0.01), 12% ( P = 0.01) and 10% ( P <0.01), respectively.
Conclusions And Relevance: There was no difference in grooming patterns between longhair cats and shorthair cats. Also, the digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, crude ash, ADF and NDF has been underestimated by approximately 6%, 7%, 14%, 12%, and 10%, respectively, when they have been calculated using the conventional digestibility method for domestic cats.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1098612X18783837 | DOI Listing |
J Anim Sci
January 2025
Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College Station, TX USA.
Thirty mature Quarter Horse geldings were used in a completely randomized 32-d study to test the hypotheses that supplemental live Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-1077 improves apparent digestion, stabilizes the fecal pH, reduces gut permeability, maintains microbial communities, and decreases inflammation in horses fed a high-starch diet. Horses were stratified by body weight, age, and body condition score (BCS) to one of two treatments: concentrate formulated with 2g starch • kg BW-1 • meal-1 (CON; n=15) or the same concentrate top-dressed with 25g/d Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-1077 (SC; n=15; 8×108 CFU). Horses were fed individually in stalls every 12h.
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January 2025
Department of Animal Nutrition and Nutritional Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkiye.
This study aims to evaluate the relationship between mineral digestibility and fecal characteristics and compare digestibility in dry and late-lactating cows. A total of 107 multiparous Holstein and Simmental cows were included, with 66 cows in late lactation and 41 cows in the dry period. The apparent digestibility of key macro minerals, dry matter content in feces, dirtiness scores, fecal characteristics, and serum macro mineral levels were determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimal
December 2024
Department of Ruminant Science, Institute of Animal Science, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon Lezion 7528809, Israel. Electronic address:
Use of desalinated seawater in arid and semiarid regions for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes is on the rise. Consequently, in those regions, drinking water offered to lactating cows has lower salinity and mineral concentrations than in the past. Although water with total dissolved solids (TDSs) of up to 1 000 ppm is considered safe for drinking, lower salinity level may affect rumen physiology, feed and water intake, or milk yield.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolymers (Basel)
December 2024
College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China.
Corn stalk fibers extracted from cattle manure (CSFCM) represent a unique class of natural fibers that undergo biological pre-treatment during ruminant digestion. This study systematically investigates the optimization of CSFCM-reinforced friction materials through controlled silane treatment (2-10 wt.%).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimals (Basel)
December 2024
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
The aim of this study was to investigate the combination effects of α-glycerol monolaurate (GML) and glyceryl tributyrate (TB) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, gut microbiota, and immune function in weaned piglets. A total of 120 weaned piglets with an average body weight (BW) of 6.88 kg were randomly allocated to one of the three dietary treatments: (1) CON: a basal diet; (2) 0.
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