Body composition of the adult domestic cat (Felis catus)

SUMMARY: The aim of this study was to determine the chemical body composition of male and female adult cats. The dehaired empty bodies of 20 adult cats were subjected to analysis for dry matter, lipid, ash, crude protein, amino acids, and several minerals (Ca, P, K, Mg, Fe, Mn and Zn). There were no significant (p > 0.05) differences in the water (mean ± SEM, 62.3 ± 0.68%), lipid (11.2 ± 1.18%) and ash (4.5 ± 0.11%) contents per unit of wet tissue between the male and female cats. Adult male cats were found to have significantly (p < 0.05) higher amounts of crude protein per unit of wet tissue (21.7 ± 0.35% vs. 20.0 ± 0.60%), lipid-free matter (24.1 ± 0.22% vs. 23.0 ± 0.22%) and lipid-free dry matter (80.7 ± 0.23% vs. 78.3 ± 0.32%) than female cats. There was no significant effect of gender on the whole body amino acid composition (lipid-free dry matter or mol percentage basis) except for cysteine which was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in the male cats in comparison to the female cats. The amount of amino acid nitrogen in the lipid-free dry matter was not significantly different between the two sexes indicating that the higher amount of crude protein per unit of lipid-free dry matter in the male cats was the result of a higher amount of either non-amino acid nitrogen, amino acids not measured in the present study, or both. The overall mean whole body essential amino acid pattern (relative to 100 mol of lysine) of the cat was: arginine, 82; histidine, 41; isoleucine, 54; leucine, 113; methionine, 32; phenylalanine, 47; threonine 71 and valine, 78. There was no significant effect of gender on the concentration of any of the minerals per unit of body ash. The mean ± SEM concentrations of Ca, P, K and Mg in the ash fraction were 32.6 ± 0.91, 18.6 ± 0.45, 4.7 ± 0.12, 0.8 ± 0.02 g/100g, respectively, and the mean ± SEM concentrations of Fe, Mn and Zn were 97.5 ± 4.01, 63.7 ± 1.79 and 1.3 ± 0.06 mg/100 g. The Ca: P ratio was not significantly different between the male and female cats and was on average 1.75 ± 0.011. The body composition of the adult cat is similar to the body composition reported for other adult mammals.