College of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, Sao Paulo State University - UNESP, Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2010 Dec;94(6):e251-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2009.00964.x.
Availability of nutrients is influenced by extremes of age, and a better characterization of this influence is necessary for appropriate development of foods and nutritional management throughout life stages of cats. This study investigated nutrient digestibility, mineral absorption, faeces and urine production in three groups of six young, mature and old cats fed two diets containing different energy densities. Apparent digestibility and mineral absorption were calculated by total collection method and values were tested with anova and regression analysis. A quadratic relationship was detected between age and digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, acid-hydrolysed fat and starch in the low-energy diet. Starch digestibility showed the same response in the high-energy diet. Young adult cats had intermediate digestibility, mature cats the highest and old cats the lowest. Mineral absorption (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride) and urinary pH were not different among groups. These findings confirm previous studies that found low digestibility of nutrients in some old cats, and support evidence that this trend is even more important in less digestible dry foods. On the contrary, data suggest that mineral formulations do not need to be varied in diets for adult cats of different ages.
营养物质的可用性受到年龄极端的影响，为了在猫的整个生命阶段适当开发食品和进行营养管理，有必要更好地描述这种影响。本研究调查了三组六只幼猫、成年猫和老猫在喂食两种不同能量密度的饮食时的营养素消化率、矿物质吸收率、粪便和尿液产量。通过全收粪法计算表观消化率和矿物质吸收率，并使用方差分析和回归分析进行检验。在低能量饮食中，年龄与干物质、有机物、粗蛋白、酸水解脂肪和淀粉的消化率之间呈二次关系。在高能饮食中，淀粉消化率也呈现出相同的反应。幼龄成年猫的消化率居中，成年猫最高，老年猫最低。各组之间的矿物质吸收率（钙、磷、镁、钠、钾和氯）和尿 pH 值没有差异。这些发现证实了之前的研究结果，即一些老年猫的营养物质消化率较低，并支持了这样一种观点，即这种趋势在消化率较低的干粮中更为重要。相反，数据表明，不同年龄的成年猫的饮食中不需要改变矿物质配方。
