Protein and sodium on the water balance of cats

• Grant number: 16/25337-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2017
• End date: February 28, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Aulus Cavalieri Carciofi
• Grantee: Ana Paula Grandini Zaneti
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cats ingest little volume of water, especially when fed with dry food. This behavior has been related to increase urolith formation by these animals. Cats produce more concentrated urine; this higher concentration induces an increase in urinary saturation, a known risk factor for urolithiasis. The objective of the present study will be evaluate the influence of intake of different concentrations of protein and sodium on the water balance of cats feed with dry extruded diets. For this, four diets will be formulated: AA composed of high protein and high sodium; AB with high protein and low sodium; BA with low protein and high sodium and BB with low protein and low sodium. The experiment will be carried out in a completely randomized design, 2x2 factorial scheme, with 4 diets, 28 cats and totalizing 7 cats per diet. The animals will be kept in metabolic cages during 10 days of adaptation to the diet, followed by 5 days of total collection of feces and urine. In order to compute the water balance, the quantities offered and the water leftovers will be weighed allowing the calculation of daily hydric consumption. Loss of water will be quantified by evaporation of the drinker and discounted in the daily intake of each animal. The calculation will also include water intake through food, drinking water intake, metabolic water, total water consumption (obtained by the sum of the first three items). Insensible losses (total ingested water minus water excreted by feces and urine), faecal water excretion, urinary excretion and total water excretion (sum of the last three items) will also be calculated. The data will be evaluated by analysis of variance and the means compared by Tukey test and contrasts of interest (P <0.05). (AU)