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Cats & Carbohydrates

pawsitiveinstinct
Jun 27, 2021
3 min read

Updated: Aug 11



It is well recorded that cats have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates, their energy source of glucose is derived from protein through a process of gluconeogenesis, even in protein deficient diets cats are unable to downregulate this function. Wild felid diets are very low in carbohydrates and in studies where cats are allowed to self-select, they choose low carbohydrate diets. Amylase is produced in the pancreas but at lower amounts than seen in most other animals, showing that they have evolved to consume a high protein diet to source their energy. When we are talking about carbohydrates we need to also define the differnt types of carbohydrates there are sugar and starches that when digested lead to a sharp insuline spike in the body, then there are indigestible fibres, these are no absorbed into the body but are either used by the micrbiome as a food source of excreted.


But what can starchy carbohydrates do in the feline body?

  • There is a hypothesis that suggests that a starchy high carbohydrate content in the feline diet will put stress on the pancreas to produce insulin, over time there can be endocrine ‘burn out’ resulting in the development of Diabetes Mellitus.

  • High starch carbohydrate diets contribute to excessive weight gain from the pancreas producing large amounts of insulin thus causing the body to store fat in reserve.

  • High starch carbohydrates are often needed to form extruded feed ie Kibble, a cat fed a high amount of dry food can easily be in a state of dehydration due to their lack of thirst drive this in turn can directly affect urinary tract and kidney health when urine is highly concentrated due to a lack of moisture, thus for optimal cellular hydration and reduction in urine concentration a high moisture diet should be consumed, these are usually lower in carbohydrates and higher in meat protein.

  • Rice has been shown to directly affect Taurine availability in diets that have rice bran or whole rice in the formulation. Taurine is a vital sulphur amino acid that is essential to cats and supports healthy heart and eyes.

  • In a study conducted on dogs, carbohydrates (kibble diets high in starch) have been shown to reduce the diversity of beneficial gut microbes and high meat diets improve the diversity. A gastrointestinal tract with a poor diversity on microbes can have systemic effects on how the body functions such as weakened immune function, poor nutrient production such as some of the B vitamins and vitamin K that are produced by gut bacteria, and is thought to be a factor in IDB in cats.


We do need to assess the possibility of dietary fibre being of benefit in the intestinal microbiome which not only is part of the immune system but also produces some vitamins like some of the B vitamins and vitamin K as well as short chain fatty acids. It is also documented that wild canids and felids do naturally consume some plant matter such as grasses, fruits, berries and other plants seasonally, the full picture of why is unclear it could be purely as a starvation option when prey is scare however they may be consuming them for fibre or nutritional support, or self medicating.


In conclusion when we look at the potential negative effects starches and sugar carbohydrates can have on the feline body it is clear that we should aim to be feeding a high meat low carbohydrate diet for optimal health.


References:

2. The Effect of Feeding Inversely Proportional Amounts of Dry Versus Canned Food on Water Consumption, Hydration and Urinary Parameters in Cats https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?id=7054968&pid=12886

3. Environmental Risk Factors for Diabetes Mellitus in Cats https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jvim.14618

5. Dietary Rice Bran Decreases Plasma and Whole-Blood Taurine in Cats- https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/132/6/1745S/4687888

6. Key bacterial families- (Clostridiaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae and Bacteroidaceae) are related to the digestion of protein and energy in dogs https://peerj.com/articles/3019/

 
 
 

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