Canine and Feline Nutrition | Nutrition Exam 3

In a pregnant bitch, what % of the fetus is developed by 40 days of gestation? (% fetal mass)

5% fetal mass

True or false: energy requirements do not increase drastically in a pregnant dog until day 40

True

Which nutrients are in higher demand after day 40 in a pregnant bitch?

• Fatty acids
• Calcium
• phosphorus
• certain amino acids

What is the recommended food for a pregnant bitch after 40 days of gestation

Either an "all life stages" food or puppy food due to its higher nutrient content

True or false: Similar to dogs, pregnant queens will tend to increase drastically in body weight only after 40 days of gestation.

False: the body weight of pregnant queens tends to increase linearly all throughout its pregnancy

What is a common risk factor associated with obesity of a pregnant bitch at whelping?

Can often cause dystocia

True or false: the milk of the bitch is higher in fat and protein than the milk of the cow.

True

What diet is often recommended to feed a bitch during lactation?

Ad lib puppy diet

What minerals are lacking in the milk of a lactating bitch (in deficiency in the puppies for the first 3 weeks)

• iron
• copper
• zinc

True or false: low concentrations of some minerals are compensated by the body stores of the puppy and will be compensated by addition of solid food during weaning.

True

When is puppy food first introduced to neonate puppies?

3 weeks

What is the MOST IMPORTANT THINGS a neonate MUST so within the first 24 hours after birth?

They must ingest Ig rich colostrum which provides passive acquired immune protection.

When measuring a French catheter (feeding tube) for a neonatal puppy in need of supplemental feeding, where would you measure the tube from?

Measure the tube from the nose to the last rib then trim it to appropriate size

A deficiency in what essential amino acids can cause cataracts in puppies at a very young age?

taurine

What enzyme is lacking in a cat, leaving it unable to utilize fructose or sucrose?

Liver fructokinase

What is the importance of arginine in the cells of cat and what can happen if there is an arginine deficiency?

• It plays a key role in the urea cycle of a cat (allows for metabolization of nitrogen to urea)

• if there is an arginine deficiency in a cat, the nitrogen will not be able to fully break down into urea and will stay as ammonia.

True or false: the enzymes responsible for producing arginine in cats have very low activity.

True: most of the meat sources the cat consumes are very high in arginine so the cat never really needs to make its own

In cats, what is taurine often conjugated to?

Bile acids

What amino acid is similar to taurine and is more often utilized over taurine in other mammals (besides dogs and cats, they use taurine)

Glycine

Taurine related dilated cardiomyopathy in cats often represents a failure in what?

Contractility due to calcium ion imbalance in myocardial cells

Aside of its role in Ca2+ ion balance int he heart, how else does lack of taurine cause issues int he body of a cat?

• it acts as an antioxidant so a lack of taurine can increase the amount of oxidative damage
• it can cause eye damage because taurine impacts the ability to regulate ionic flux in the photoreceptor cells in the retina

True or false: dogs have higher requirements than cats (cats can ear dog food but not vice versa)

False: cats have higher requirements, so dogs can eat cat food but not vice versa

True or false: the maximum calcium allowed in diets for large breed puppies (4.5g/1000 kcal) is less than the maximum for small/medium breed puppies (6.5/1000 kcal)

True

Up to what age are puppies unable to regulate their calcium absorption? (Will absorb any Ca2+ they are given, can result in hypercalcemia))

6 months

What type of puppies is most at sick for orthopedic disease at a young age?

Large breed puppies