Pet food study finds adult cats prefer low-carb diets

A study on the macronutrient regulation of pet food was conducted to determine how adult domesticated cats select what to eat, when given a choice of pet foods with different ingredient amounts.
The study, "Geometric analysis of macronutrient selection in adult domestic cats, Felis catus," looked at whether adult domesticated cats, given a choice of three foods with variable amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat, would deliberately select a food that is biologically appropriate for them.
The study found that when the cats were restricted to a high-carbohydrate food, they did not eat enough of it to get the targeted amount of protein. The cats who were more experienced in eating dry foods increased their protein intake and ate a smaller amount of carbohydrates than cats with little experience who were offered the same choices in the study.
According to study authors, when given a choice, cats learn to avoid eating an excessive amount of carbohydrates because they do not produce the enzymes required to digest high amounts of carbohydrates. Authors also said that results indicated that strong nutritional regulation of petfood is important for proper formulation of cats' diets to account for macronutritional differences between wet and dry commercial cat foods.

Study finds digestibility of carbohydrate sources for dogs

A digestibility study conducted by São Paulo State University scientists determined the nutritional value of various ingredients for dog foods. Eight adult dogs were housed in metabolic cages, and distributed into 8 × 8 Latin square experimental design, with eight diets and eight replicates per diet. The difference, or substitution method was used to estimate ingredient digestibility.
A reference diet was formulated based on nutritional requirements of dogs. For each test diet, 300 g/kg of the reference diet was replaced with the ingredient evaluated. All the diets were extruded.

AFIA hosts 2 Salmonella webcasts

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and its Pet Food Committee have designed two educational webcasts for this spring to help feed and petfood industry personnel better understand how to control and manage Salmonella.
The first webcast, Controlling Salmonella in Your Facility, will take place March 23 from 2 to 4:30 pm EDT with Dr. Frank Jones, professor emeritus of the University of Arkansas.
The second webcast, Management Considerations for Salmonella/Microbial Control, will take place April 22 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. EDT with a representative from the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine; Richard Sellers, AFIA vice president of feed regulation and nutrition; and Jarrod Kersey, AFIA Pet Food Committee liaison.

Cranimals featured in new book

Certified organic pet supplements Cranimals have been featured in the recently released book 30 Days Without Kibble.
The book, written by Eva Blais, offers dog owners an alternative to buying commercially prepared kibble and canned dog food.
Blais says she chose Cranimals to supplement her whole food recipes because after feeding the supplements to her dogs, she saw an improvement in their skin, coat and dental health, and believes Cranimals has also helped keep her pets’ immune systems strong.