• W H Hendriks, P J Moughan, and M F Tarttelin.
• Monogastric Research Centre, Department of Animal Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
• J. Nutr. 1996 Apr 1; 126 (4): 955-62.

AbstractIleal and fecal gut endogenous nitrogen and amino acid excretions in adult domestic cats were determined. Ileal digesta were collected (10 cm of terminal ileum) from the cats fed either a protein-free diet or an enzymatically hydrolyzed casein-based diet (free amino acids and peptides < 10,000 Da) for 1 wk. Chromic oxide was included in each diet as an indigestible marker. The relative contribution of the hindgut to total endogenous gut excretion was investigated in a separate study by feeding cats a protein-free diet with or without added antibiotics for 10 d. Endogenous ileal nitrogen and amino acid nitrogen excretions of (mean +/- SEM 2.4 +/- 0.27 and 1.9 +/- 0.13 mg/g food dry matter intake, respectively, were found for the cats fed the protein-free diet, whereas higher excretions of 3.6 +/- 0.73 (P = 0.12) and 3.6 +/- 0.76 (P = 0.03) mg/g food dry matter intake were obtained in cats fed the enzymatically hydrolyzed casein. Significantly (P < 0.05) higher endogenous ileal amino acid excretions, for the enzymatically hydrolyzed casein-fed cats compared with those fed the protein-free diet, were found for methionine, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, proline, valine and isoleucine, with the differences in excretions of glycine, alanine, leucine and histidine being significant at the 6% level. Most of the endogenous fecal amino acid excretions were unaffected by the inclusion of the antibiotics in the protein-free diet, although bacterial numbers were significantly lower (69%). Antibiotics addition led to significantly higher fecal endogenous excretions of nitrogen, taurine, threonine, serine and histidine but significantly lower excretions of methionine and lysine. Cats, like other simple-stomached mammals, excrete higher amounts of endogenous amino acids at the terminal ileum when the diet contains peptides.

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