Remember the helplessness and heartache when giving the cat weight loss?
Image from: Tenor
There are thousands of obese cats
Sure enough, my cat was one of them
Image from: GIPHY
Are some cats destined to be fat from birth?
Or did the cat mother feed too well when she was a child and became prone to fat physique?
A survey
To test this question, in 2021, a team led by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University in the Netherlands conducted a retrospective survey to study the effects of the length of lactation period (SPL) in female cats on the weight status of kittens in adulthood.
Image: Gifer
➤ Cat information
A total of 69 cats participated in the survey, and the researchers surveyed their parents to collect information on when they were weaned, age, breed, sex, feeding volume and frequency, daily play and outdoor activities. All cats participating in the survey ranged in age from 1 to 12 years old, with an average age of 5.3 years.
➤ Experimental process
The researchers divided the 69 cats into 4 groups according to the weaning time:
Vertical axis Figure from: Cat Research Institute
The body mass index (BMI) of the four groups of cats was calculated separately to assess the overweight of the cats.
BMI =BW (body weight)/PCL (length from the top of the patella to the end of the root bone) (kg/m) Fig. from: Citation 2
After calculation, it was found that there was a clear correlation between the early and late weaning time of these 4 groups of cats and the weight change after adulthood:
▌ The earlier the kitten is weaned, the higher the likelihood of being overweight in adulthood
68% of cats aged 0 to 6 weeks were weaned, compared with 33% to 48% of overweight cats aged 6 weeks or more.
The horizontal axis is the time of weaning of the cat, and the vertical axis is the number of cats Pictured from: Cat Research Institute
Cats that breastfeed less than 6 weeks are 2 to 3 times more likely to be overweight than cats that have been breastfeeding for more than 6 weeks.
Overall, kittens that have been breastfed longer are less likely to be overweight and obese in adulthood.
Results discussed
▌ Why does breast milk affect subsequent weight development?
Related studies have shown that there is an appetite control hormone in breast milk: leptin. Adequate leptin intake by kittens during lactation may play a key role in future weight and metabolic processes.
So what is leptin?
Leptin (from the Greek word leptos, meaning lean), a hormone produced by adipose tissue, was first discovered in 1994.
Circulatory leptin works in the brain, especially in the hypothalamus, activating anorexia neuropeptide circuits and inhibiting appetite neuropeptide circuits through its specific receptors, leading to reduced food intake, increased energy expenditure, and control of other metabolic processes. Leptin can also have a direct impact on adipose tissue by stimulating lipid catabolism and inhibiting fat production.
And there have been studies reporting the presence of leptin in human breast milk, which plays an important role in controlling food intake in the short term.
At the same time, in addition to affecting the weight of kittens in adulthood, premature weaning may also increase the stereotyped behavior and aggression of cats.
In 2017, Finnish researchers published an article in the sub-journal Nature that a survey of 5726 cats in 40 breeds found that weaned cats aged 12-14 weeks were significantly lower than those of early weaning (<8 weeks) and other behavioral problems. About 80% of cats show mild behavioral problems, while 25% of cats with severe behavioral problems.
So what should be done?
➤ Weaning prematurely
The nutrients in breast milk are essential for the skeletal development, eye health, and organ development of kittens, and the leptin contained in them can also affect the weight maintenance of cats in adulthood.
Instead of holding kittens away from the mother cat too early or buying a cat that is too young, the researchers recommend that kittens are best spent 7 weeks with the mother cat, and preferably extended by another 5 weeks if possible.
In addition to this, growing up with the mother is an important part of the socialization of kittens, and if weaned prematurely and are not properly guided by the mother cat when the kitten is young, the kitten may grow up to become scared, cowardly, or even aggressive, and may not know how to communicate properly with other cats.
But many times the weaning age of cats is not controlled by the shoveler...
➤ What should I do if my kittens are weaned earlier?
The kitten is more likely to join the obese army as an adult, so the shoveler needs to pay attention to the changes in the cat's energy needs at various stages.
During the period from weaning to adulthood, the nutritional needs of cats will be relatively high. Adult cats will have lower energy requirements than kittens, and after sterilization, cats will have lower energy requirements.
When controlling the cat's energy intake daily, you can choose foods with higher protein content to provide the cat with a longer satiety and prevent the cat from eating more food.
So it is best to let the kitten stay with the mother cat as much as possible, which is very important for the physical and mental development of the kitten. It can help kittens grow into a healthier, friendlier cat
【Director Interaction in this issue】
Do you know the weaning time of your cat?
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Source:
[1] Denise van Lent、Johannes CM Vernooij、Ronald Jan Corbee，Animals 2021.
[2] Effectiveness of feline body mass index (fBMI) as new diagnostic tool for obesity K Kawasumi, E Iwazaki, Y Okada - Japanese Journal of , 2016 - eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp.
[3] Ahola, M. K., Vapalahti, K., & Lohi, H. (2017). Early weaning increases aggression and stereotypic behaviour in cats. Scientific Reports, 7(1).
Editor-in-Charge: LNS
This article is the original of the Cat Research Institute, and it is not allowed to be reproduced arbitrarily