Fiber intake, water balance and urine production of cats fed by extruded diets

• Grant number: 15/00783-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2015
• End date: March 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Aulus Cavalieri Carciofi
• Grantee: Amanda Vitta
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Fiber has been included in dogs and cats food to bring benefits as satiety control, to promote intestinal health and decrease the energetic value of the diets. In the other hand, the fiber addition increases the fecal volume and water excretion by feces. Considering that domestic cats are animals with low stimulus in the thirst mechanism and make the body water control by concentration of the urine without increase the water consumption, the purpose of this study is to verify the influence of the fiber inclusion on the water balance and the nutrients digestibility in extruded diets for adult cats. Will be used 18cats, divided in 3 groups with 6 animals each. The diets will be: BP0- control diet without beet pulp, BP8 - with 8% inclusion of beet pulp and BP16 - with 16% inclusion of beet pulp. The corn will be replaced in all diets. The apparent digestibility will be conduct according to guidelines for the total collection of faces and urine. To water balance will be registered: food water, drinking water, metabolic water, excretion of water and urine excretion. The metabolic water will be estimated multiplying the consumed amount of digestible protein by 0,396, the amount the digestible carbohydrate by 0,566 and the digestible fat by 1,071. The data will be analyzed using the SAS statistical software, considering P< 0.05.