? What are the seven minerals and essential food vitamins for cats
Seven minerals are known to be essential
nutrients for cats. Calcium and phosphorus are essential for strong bones and
teeth. Cats need other minerals, such as magnesium, potassium, and sodium, to
transmit nerve impulses, muscle contraction, and cell signals. Several minerals
found only in small amounts in the body, including selenium, copper, and
molybdenum, act as cofactors in a variety of enzymatic reactions.
Many nutrients can cause a variety of
deficiency symptoms in cats, and the skin is a vital organ that is vulnerable
to dietary changes in minerals, protein, fatty acids, and vitamins A and B. Oil
production, skin tightening. This results in dandruff, redness, hair loss, oily
skin, and reduced hair growth.
Arginine
Cats are extraordinarily
dependent on a continuous supply of the amino acid arginine, and a diet lacking
in arginine causes significant weight loss and can quickly be fatal. Arginine
is an essential additive in cat food because cats have low levels of the
enzymes responsible for the synthesis of ornithine and citrulline in the small
intestine. Citrulline normally travels to the kidneys to make arginine, but
because cats are deficient in the enzymes that make it, citrulline is not
produced in sufficient amounts to make arginine. Arginine is essential in the
urea cycle to convert the toxic component of ammonia into urea which
can then be excreted in the urine. Because of its essential role, arginine
deficiency leads to toxic ammonia buildup and leads to hyperammonemia. Symptoms
of hyperammonemia include lethargy, vomiting, ataxia, and hypersensitivity, and
can be serious enough to induce death and coma within days if the cat is fed a
diet devoid of arginine. These symptoms come on quickly because arginine-free
diets will usually still contain all the other amino acids, which the body will
continue to catabolize, producing large amounts of ammonia that build up very
quickly with no way to excrete it.
zinc
Zinc's association
with skin and coat health is due to its effect on the regulation of cellular
metabolism. When zinc is added to diets, skin peeling is reduced. Dietary
copper deficiency is also associated with collagen abnormalities,
hypopigmentation, and alopecia. Sources for cats include liver and supplements
in the form of copper sulfate and copper oxide.
selenium
Selenium, along with
Vitamin E, acts as an antioxidant to remove free radicals that damage the body and
skin. Selenium also plays a role with other antioxidants to help maintain cell
membranes providing further protection from free radicals that cause oxidative
stress. Dietary sources of selenium occur naturally in selenomethionine and
tuna.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E as an
antioxidant in the feline diet for digestive health can have a positive effect
in improving the animal's immune function and preventing infection. Vitamin E
is a free radical scavenger that acts as a chain-breaking antioxidant to
prevent free radical damage to cell membranes. Vitamin E helps protect cells
from highly reactive oxygen species within the lungs, muscles, skin, brain,
tissues, and red blood cells. Cats must occasionally consume plant matter,
primarily leaves, in response to a diet deficient in fiber.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are short-chain
carbohydrates classified as fiber with an added aspect because they selectively
promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. They are included in the diet to
increase the number of bacteria and microbes normally found in a healthy gut.
Examples include preventing allergies, diarrhea, symptoms related to stress,
etc. Free radicals amplify inflammation by causing the release of
pro-inflammatory cytokines. Free radicals can be caused by many factors such as
stress, disease, and age. Combinations of antioxidants have been reported to
improve serum vitamin status, suppress lipid peroxidation and distribute the
effects of exercise on the immune system. The most common antioxidants found in
a cat's diet are Vitamin E and Vitamin C.
Vitamin A
Fatty acids can bind to
various molecules such as carbohydrates or proteins, and they can perform a
wide range of functions in the body. All bio fatty acids are unsaturated.
Alpha-linolenic acid is an omega-3 fatty acid that helps maintain the skin's
water barrier. In addition to its many other functions, Vitamin A plays an
important role in the keratinization of skin, hair, and nails besides aiding in
the growth of various epithelial tissues throughout the body.
Vegetable carbohydrates.
Dietary fiber is a plant
carbohydrate that cannot be digested by mammalian enzymes. It increases
motility by stimulating regular contractions of the distal part of the small
intestine, which reduces fermentation in the small intestine while increasing
it in the large intestine for further absorption of fatty acids. Microorganisms
in the colon are responsible for fermenting fiber into short-chain fatty acids
and producing some vitamins.
In the end, we can say
that cat food is food that must contain specific requirements for its nutrients, whether vitamins, acids, carbohydrates, and fats for growth and
proper health.
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