{"id":4403,"date":"2017-04-26T05:16:28","date_gmt":"2017-04-26T10:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diamondcarepetfood.com\/?p=758"},"modified":"2022-01-11T17:41:43","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T23:41:43","slug":"cats-and-carbohydrates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/health\/weight-management\/cats-and-carbohydrates\/","title":{"rendered":"Cats and Carbohydrates: Fueling Your Feline"},"content":{"rendered":"

The value \u2014 or lack of value \u2014 of carbohydrates in cat food is often debated among cat parents, veterinarians and nutritionists. The discussion is centered around the difference between a cat\u2019s natural diet in the wild and the nutrient profile of today\u2019s commercial cat foods, which are frequently, negatively and sometimes wrongly perceived to be high-carbohydrate diets. As a result, dietary carbohydrates (carbs, for short) are often blamed for the growing number of overweight, obese and\/or diabetic cats.<\/p>\n

Advances in science and technology have helped veterinary nutritionists better understand feline metabolism during the past 20 years. This month we\u2019ll look at what makes the feline digestive system and carbohydrate metabolism different from other species (particularly dogs), yet enables cats to thrive on foods higher in carbs than their ancestral diet. Next month we\u2019ll take a closer look at the connection between dry cat foods, obesity and diabetes.<\/p>\n

Contributions of dietary carbs to cat foods<\/h2>\n

\"Four<\/p>\n

The use of ingredients in cat food that provide absorbable and digestible carbs are those that have created the most controversy.<\/p>\n

Cats need a certain amount of energy to fuel their normal daily activities. Like dogs, people and other animals, cats get energy from three classes of nutrients found in food: protein, fat and carbohydrates. While carbs are not essential in a healthy adult cat\u2019s diet \u2014 unless the cat is pregnant or nursing kittens \u2014 they do<\/em> provide plenty of energy. While energy is the primary reason for adding carbohydrate-containing ingredients to cat foods, there are other benefits, too. Carbohydrate metabolism generates heat for the body and provides building blocks for other nutrients, such as vitamin C, nonessential amino acids and a host of others.<\/p>\n

Finally, carbs play an important role in the making of dry cat foods. The starch in carbohydrate-containing ingredients helps hold kibbles together and helps prevent crumbling during manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Carbohydrate metabolism in cats is different<\/h3>\n

Like most animals, healthy adult cats don\u2019t require carbohydrates in their diet. But glucose, which is a simple carbohydrate, is metabolically<\/em> essential. Most body cells normally use glucose as their primary energy source. While some cells can use other energy sources such as fatty acids, the brain, innermost area of the kidneys and red blood cells need a constant glucose supply. This glucose requirement can be met by digesting carbohydrates in food and\/or by making glucose from amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and glycerol (the backbone of triglycerides). The process by which amino acids are made into glucose is always active in cats and, along with the low-carb content of the evolutionary feline diet, is the reason why cats have a higher need for protein than many other animals.<\/p>\n

The belief that cats should only be fed meat stems from differences in their digestive system\u2019s ability to process carbohydrates:<\/p>\n