Serum metabolomics analysis of obese elderly cats fed hydrolyzed poultry protein

• Grant number: 25/00129-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Thiago Henrique Annibale Vendramini
• Grantee: Carolina Dantas Micheletti
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Obesity is considered the most common nutritional disease in cats, with a multifactorial etiology. Feline obesity predisposes to the development of several comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus, hepatic lipidosis and hyperlipidemia, diseases of the urinary tract, oral cavity, orthopedic diseases and neoplasia. In addition, the aging process of cats makes them less active. As they age, it is possible to observe a greater probability of the appearance of diseases. For the feline population, the levels of lipids, cholesterol and phospholipids increase significantly, as does body weight, during aging. This process occurs in part due to the difficulty in metabolizing lipids, which increases the predisposition to obesity at this stage of life for the species. In this context, the hypothesis of the present study is that the inclusion of 12.0% hydrolyzed poultry by-product meal in a dry and extruded diet can produce metabolites that promote health benefits for obese older cats. Sixteen male and female cats, of mixed breed, neutered, aged between 9 and 12 years, with body condition score (BCS) between 8 and 9, clinically healthy, dewormed and vaccinated, without associated comorbidities will be used. The felines will be divided into two experimental groups: control group (CG), fed with conventionally processed poultry by-product meal (CPM), and experimental group (EG), fed with a diet containing hydrolyzed poultry by-product meal (HPM-c). Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the effects of the inclusion of 12% hydrolyzed chicken protein in the diet of obese elderly cats on metabolic parameters, in addition to characterizing the metabolome of elderly cats.