The Influence of Diet on the Intestinal Health of Dogs and Cats
*By Rafael Santana
According to the latest National Health Survey, released in 2015 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 44.3% of Brazilian households have at least one dog and 17.7% have at least one cat. In total, the country has 132.4 million pets, of which 52.2 million are dogs and 22.1 million are cats.
In view of so many people passionate about and concerned for their animals, the pet food industry has evolved significantly over the past ten years and is increasingly specializing in producing items that not only meet nutritional requirements but also provide health benefits.
Whenever we talk about foods related to healthfulness, we cannot fail to consider the importance of evaluating the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) to ensure its proper functioning. Generally, intestinal health is reflected in the good morphological characteristics of the epithelium (crypts, villi, and integrity); the balance of the microbiome; the appropriate immune response of adjacent lymphoid tissues; good digestion; and nutrient absorption.
Regarding the proper intestinal function of pets, the main parameter is the flow and morphology of the feces, which should be well-formed, slightly moist, and regular, in addition to the morphological and anatomical patterns assessed during the clinical abdominal examination.
All these aspects can be altered due to diet or intestinal diseases, which will directly affect the general health condition of dogs and cats. When affected by diseases—whether of the GIT itself or secondary—animals may exhibit symptoms ranging from weight loss to dehydration, loss of appetite, poorly formed and foul-smelling stools, increased abdominal volume, and reduced body condition score.
The importance of stimulation through daily food has led industries to include functional ingredients and additives in their formulations, aiming to support the GIT in its interfaces and relationships with other systems and direct and indirect factors. The primary example is the inclusion of prebiotics and probiotics, which aim to promote the balance of the intestinal microbiome by stimulating the multiplication and predominance of beneficial organisms present in the animals’ intestines.
Expanding the view on all adopted strategies, many other additives and ingredients present interesting potentials. These range from modulating the local immune response of the intestine to contributing to morphological changes in the intestinal epithelium and protection against mycotoxins. However, some of these additives and ingredients still need to overcome challenges to prove their benefits, being subjected to well-structured, rigorous experiments with consistent results.
More recently, many research lines have been formed to better understand how animals in special conditions cope with diets and which nutritional strategies can be adopted to assist them in the digestive process, nutrient absorption, and maintenance of intestinal health.
These contributions to intestinal health have also gained prominence in meeting consumer demands, who increasingly understand that animals of different breeds, sizes, and ages may have diverse needs in supplementing their diets, which in turn requires guidance and monitoring by specialized veterinarians.
Given these different situations, it is concluded that intestinal health and proper functioning are directly influenced by a complex combination of factors. To act effectively in this process, a thorough understanding of everything involved in its context is essential.
* Rafael Santana is a veterinarian and responsible for the animal nutrition market at Concepta Ingredients, a business unit belonging to the Sabará Group, specialized in developing natural and technological solutions focused on the food, beverage, animal nutrition, and veterinary pharmaceutical industries.
