Need usable information about cats' nutritional requirements

I'm trying to adapt a recipe for a 4-month-old kitten with multiple developmental challenges including some malabsorption issues. I have already consulted with a veterinary nutritionist and received a recipe for a diet I can prepare at home. But the recipe contains an ingredient that the kitten has a hard time with. I'm trying to find out what I can replace that one ingredient with, keeping the rest of the recipe (which does include vitamin, mineral, and amino acid supplements) balanced and complete.

I am finding it IMPOSSIBLE to get the kind of information I need to do this!

When I look at nutritional analyses for various foodstuffs, I see information like: 1 cup of ingredient X contains this many calories, this many grams of protein, this many grams of carbohydrate, this many grams of fat, this many grams of fiber, etc.

So what I need to know is something like: For a serving of X calories, a kitten or cat food should contain this many grams of protein, this many of carbohydrates, this many of fat, etc. And I need to know the maximum quantity (grams, not percent!) of fiber and carbs, given that cats apparently don't *need* those, but don't mind them as long as they don't get too much.

It would also help to know how many calories a cat or kitten needs in a day, so I can make sure I don't come up with a recipe that has everything he needs, but only if he eats a gallon of it a day.

But when I look for information about feline nutritional needs, I don't find out how many calories or grams a cat needs. Instead I see information like: Cats need this *percent* of protein, this *percent* of fat, etc.

I can't convert "X percent protein" into "Y grams of protein per Z calories"! Those aren't measuring the same dimension of reality.

Help? Where can I find the kind of information I need?

(Please note that I'm not looking for recipes. I already have a recipe that was recommended by the nutritionist I consulted. I'm looking for general information about cats' dietary needs, in a form that I can use to adjust that recipe as we continue trying to identify this particular kitten's sensitivities.)

you likely should be looking at the AFFCO manual and the Merck vet manual

You mean like this? http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/htm/bc/tmgn47.htm

It's still percentages, not grams or calories.

Besides, look at the Appendix 1 in this article I found (which is much too technical for me to understand!): http://www.catinfo.org/docs/zorans_article.pdf

It looks like AAFCO standards for protein and fat are considerably lower than what cats probably need. Then again, that's in percentages, and if they're going by weight, the percentages can be affected by how much water is used in processing.

So I'm still really confused, and AAFCO and Merck aren't helping. :-(

well can you figure a base of 100 grams... for most foods this =3.3 oz roughly

100 grams
protein is 33% = 33 grams

cats need 15-30 calories per lb of body wt

thus on ave 220 seems to work for a 10lb cat

what ingrediants are you working with? lol I have been in your shoes a few time s



Merck is the one all the vets go to and AFFCO is the one who SETs the min and max of things for foods... the charts give the minimum to sustain life ( so yeah they are low to most of us)

Originally Posted by sharky

well can you figure a base of 100 grams... for most foods this =3.3 oz roughly

100 grams
protein is 33% = 33 grams

cats need 15-30 calories per lb of body wt

thus on ave 220 seems to work for a 10lb cat

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So is the percentage based on the weight of the food?

That may or may not help me, if I look at a chart and see that 1 cup of something has X grams of protein, but I don't know how much 1 cup weighs. Some charts do offer information by weight as well as by volume, though. Thanks.

What I'm trying to find a replacement for right now is rice. I'm wondering if I can replace it with buckwheat groats (kasha), which is higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates (and, despite its name, is not a wheat and does not contain gluten). But it also has more fiber. What's the maximum amount of fiber a cat's system can handle?

A solid rice replacement I have found is Quinoa ( spelling is not my best) .. it is high in protein ... Oats also are good ( great for tummy issues)..

Buckwheat is actually NOT a grain but a grass... I am and have been gluten intolerant for almost 20 years .. While it does not contain gluten it s digestion in a feline is less than the other s I mentioned

Typically cat use 3-5 % fiber well... some handle up to 8 okay

Yes the % is based on weight... so if you tell me what your putting together .. ie meat , grain and veg I can get you a quick % to grams

You're likely having trouble finding info ref. caloric needs for cats because measuring calories is an inefficient method of determining the size of a cat's meal. It's more about where the calories come from (their bio-availability) than it is how many calories they're eating.

AAFCO, the National Research Council, and the European Standards all differ so drastically from one another that I consider those standards pretty useless. It's better to go back to examining a cat's natural diet and work from there than to try to create a menu that matches any of those recommendations.

If I were you, though, I'd go back to whoever gave you the recipe and ask them for a replacement of that one ingredient. Actually, I'd ask them what the heck rice is doing in a cat-food recipe first, especially for a cat that has digestive issues. A study by The American Society for Nutritional Sciences showed that rice decreases the amount of taurine in whole blood and plasma in cats, and that, despite the supplementation of commercial products with taurine, cats continue to be diagnosed with taurine deficiency. Also, the presence of rice in the food affects the content of fat and fiber, which in turn could affect the metabolism of taurine. Per the study: "Diet formulations with normally adequate taurine supplementation may actually be deficient in taurine if rice bran or whole rice is included as an ingredient."

Here's the study: http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/132/6/1745S

Good luck with your little kitty. Four months is so young to be having dietary problems already. <<<hugs>>>

The taurine issue is fairly mute... If one delves further into it you see supplementation above the required amounts.. Of course it does aid my DO NOT seek out brown rice saying it is healthier for kitty ...

Calories are relative ... Very good point though the standards are not all that different just the wording between world agencies

Rice is ( white) 76-85% digestible... ideal no but it is far more digestible than most common ingredients.... And the digestion of it is quite easy which is why it is the first line tummy issue grain used in homemade and commercial foods

Originally Posted by sharky

The taurine issue is fairly mute... If one delves further into it you see supplementation above the required amounts..

Rice is ( white) 76-85% digestible... ideal no but it is far more digestible than most common ingredients.... And the digestion of it is quite easy which is why it is the first line tummy issue grain used in homemade and commercial foods

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I guess we'll have to agree to have differing opinions on this, Sharky. I believe, and the study concludes, that what is typically considered a "sufficient" amount of taurine supplementation is not quite so sufficient when rice is added to a commercial product.

And while you may consider rice to be "more digestible" than most common ingredients, it still isn't a healthy food product for an obligate carnivore, who's sole dietary need is for animal-based products.

Which is why I would ask the provider of the recipe for the reason it's included.

Again, Jisincla, good luck! Please do let us know how it goes with the little one, ok?

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

I guess we'll have to agree to have differing opinions on this, Sharky. I believe, and the study concludes, that what is typically considered a "sufficient" amount of taurine supplementation is not quite so sufficient when rice is added to a commercial product.

And while you may consider rice to be "more digestible" than most common ingredients, it still isn't a healthy food product for an obligate carnivore, who's sole dietary need is for animal-based products.

Which is why I would ask the provider of the recipe for the reason it's included.

Again, Jisincla, good luck! Please do let us know how it goes with the little one, ok?

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The opinion I gave is based on years of reading on the topic and not just ONE article which was limited in scope

I gave you the reason ... which is based on not my thinking but the Facts !... White rice is actual more digestible than all but the top too meats ...