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餵食貓咪:了解貓咪所需的基本營養

 

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

作者:Lisa A. Pierson, DVM

 

學習研讀寵物食品的原料標籤

Learn How To Read a Pet Food Ingredient Label

 

這是一個困難之處. 目前寵物食品的標示非常缺乏有用的資訊. 你在罐罐上看到的保證成分分析數值只能提供一個廣義的水,蛋白質及脂肪含量. 你只能大概知道食物裡有哪些東西,但是比較理想的是,上面應該要強制標示吸收量. 但是,我想沒辦法這麼快看到這件事發生. 這個項目應該和我們目前所看到的標示放在一起.

This is where it gets tough. The current labeling system for pet foods is seriously lacking in usable information. The "guaranteed analysis" numbers that you find on a can of food only provide a wide range of the levels of water, protein, fat, etc. that are contained in the food. You can get a rough idea of what is in the food but, ideally, it should be mandatory to put the more accurate 'as fed' values on the can. However, I do not see this happening anytime soon. This would be more along the lines of the information that we find on our own packaged foods.

 

看標示上的原料,同樣也無法知道食物裡面每個原料所含的比例. 如果不能知道每種原料所含的量, 我們無法了解這個食物所能提供的營養. 例如,當我們看到標示上有一個高碳水化合物的原料(:,我們知道這個原料不適合存在貓食裡)而我們無法知道米在食物裡所含的量.這是為什麼我們不只要看有哪些原料,同時也要注意它的組成含量 (蛋白質/脂肪/碳水化合物所提供的熱量).

Looking at the list of ingredients also gives an incomplete picture of what is actually in the food in terms of amount of each ingredient. Without knowing the actual amount of each ingredient, we have no idea of the impact of the ingredient on the nutritional profile of the food. For instance, when we see a high carbohydrate ingredient like rice on the label, we know that this food item has no business being in cat food but how do we really know the quantity of rice that is in the food? Is it present in a small amount or a large amount? This is why it is important to not just consider the list of ingredients but to also look at the composition (calories from protein/fat/carbohydrate) of the food. Information about the composition of various

commercial foods can be found at binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html.

 

有一個很好的例子可以解釋以上這些事情-Wellness罐罐. 當你看第一眼時,你會覺得這個食物並不適合食肉動物,因為它含有多種高碳水化合物的原料(像是水果及蔬菜). 但是實際上,它的低碳水化合物比例 (3~5%)告訴我們,它裡面所含的蔬果含量非常低.

A good example of the above issue is a food like canned Wellness. At first glance, this food may be dismissed as inappropriate for a carnivore because it contains several high carbohydrate ingredients in the form of fruits and vegetables. However, in reality, the low carbohydrate level (3-5%) tells us that the amount of fruits and vegetables is very low.

 

如果你正在餵的食品沒有上面提到的那些,你可以詢問其公司並得到這些食物裡源自蛋白質的熱量有多少. 理想中,源自碳水化合物的熱量,應該占貓咪飲食的10%以下.

If a food that you are feeding is not included on the above list, you can contact the company and ask for the breakdown of their foods in terms of the calories that come from protein, the calories that come from fat, and the calories that come from carbohydrates. Optimally, your cat's diet should not derive more than 10

per cent of its calories from carbohydrates.

 

天然”,”特級”,”完整獸醫推薦”,這些字眼並不一定代表高品質. 而且,如果你想餵食一些品種特定的食品,請參看我們的網頁以得到一些直接的評論. 暹羅,波斯及緬因貓與街貓在飲食的需求上並沒有不同. 不管是哪個品種,貓咪仍是一個嚴格的食肉動物.

The words “natural” or “premium” or “holistic” or "veterinarian recommended" are not necessarily indicative of high quality. Also, if you are thinking about feeding any 'breed-specific' food, please see this blog entry at catnutrition.org for some straight-forward comments about the utterly absurd claims that these companies make regarding these diets. A Siamese is no different from Persian or a Maine Coon - or an 'alley cat' – when considering optimal dietary composition. No matter the breed, the cat is still an obligate carnivore.

 

室內貓專用也只是一個行銷手法. 當人在貓咪的頭上放了個屋頂,牠仍是一個嚴格的食肉動物. 這些室內貓專用的食品常常都是乾乾,且有非常高含量的碳水化合物.

The phrase “Indoor Only” is simply a marketing gimmick. Cats did not stop being obligate carnivores when Man put a roof over their heads. These ‘Indoor Only’ foods are always in the dry form and are very high in carbohydrates.

 

與一般認知不同的是,許多在獸醫院販賣的處方飲食並沒有設計成對食肉動物的健康最好. 許多的產品含有玉米,小麥及大豆,這些都不應該出現在貓咪的飲食當中,這些食品也常常含有非常高量的碳水化合物.

Contrary to what is often believed, many, if not all, of the so-called prescription diets sold in veterinary hospitals are not formulated for optimal health of a carnivore. Many of these products contain corn, wheat, and soy which have no logical place in your cat's diet and these diets are often very high in carbohydrates.

 

許多還將副產品做為主要原料及唯一的蛋白質來源.

Many of them also contain by-products as the main - and often only - source of protein.

 

副產品不一定是低品質的蛋白質來源,實際上,它們可以是非常的營養.

By-products are not necessarily low quality protein sources. In fact, they can be extremely nutritious.

 

但是,比較起來,肌肉的品質還是較好的. 副產品比肌肉便宜,但是這些處方食品價格較高,應該要使用比較好的蛋白質來源.

However, there is more variability when quality is being considered when compared to muscle meat. By-products are also cheaper than muscle meat so one would think that as much as the prescription diets cost, these companies could use a higher quality protein source.

 

所以,我比較想看到人家餵食副產品的罐罐而非乾乾,因為罐罐的碳水化合物比較低.

That said, I would much rather see someone feed a diet of canned by-products than any dry food as long as the canned food is low in carbohydrates.

 

請注意,希爾思的處方食品,不斷的使用一些非常不好的防腐劑(:BHA,BHTethoxyquin). 其他的公司早就不再使用這些化學物質做為保存劑-選擇了較天然及安全的方法.

Please note that Hill’s – the maker of Hill's Prescription foods – continues to use extremely questionable preservatives such as BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin in many of their products. Other companies have abandoned the practice of using these chemicals as preservatives – opting for more natural and safer methods.

 

不幸的是,大多數的獸醫並沒有被好好的教導營養這個領域. 這個領域的研究在獸醫學校裡沒有被重視. 而且,當你想想這些在獸醫學校裡教書的人,都和寵物食品公司有金錢掛勾,你就知道這些衝突的存在.

Unfortunately, most veterinarians are very poorly educated in the area of nutrition. This field of study is not heavily emphasized in veterinary school. Also, if you consider the fact that many of the people teaching this subject in our veterinary schools, and advising general practitioners, have a monetary tie to the pet food industry, you will see a potential conflict of interest.

 

這些人所懂飲食建議,是直接或間接的來自寵物食品工業-一個不是總是為了貓咪而設計產品的工業. 常常,你所付出太多金錢去買這些含有低品質,不適合物種的處方食品.

This leads to general practitioners often basing their dietary recommendations on information obtained directly or indirectly from the pet food industry – an industry that does not always have your cat’s best interest in mind when formulating their products. In most instances, you will be paying far more money than you should be for the low quality, species-inappropriate ingredients that many of these prescription products

contain.

 

另外一個很重要的是,這些處方食品並沒有臨床上的研究支持其可以治療它們目標的疾病.

It is also important to note that most of these prescription diets have no clinical studies behind them to support their use in treating the various diseases that they target.

 

我很希望獸醫們不要在執著於處方食品,考慮使用高品質,價格低,非處方的飲食.

I would love to see veterinarians break out of the prescription diet ‘box’ and consider the use of higher quality, lower cost, over-the-counter diets.

 

選擇肌肉(比內臟好)為第一原料. 肌肉會寫成雞肉或是火雞肉”…,而非雞肉副產品”,”雞肉副產品粉”,”雞湯”. “雞肉粉是肌肉但是已被處理過(長時間高溫烹煮).而且它的品質會比那些沒有被這樣處理過的肉低. “類的產品常常會在乾乾裡看到. 副產品包括腳,腸子,羽毛,蛋殼,比肉類所含的營養低.

Look for a muscle meat (preferably, not an organ meat like liver) as the first ingredient. A muscle meat will be listed as “chicken,” or “turkey,” etc., not “chicken by-products” or “chicken by-product meal,” or “chicken broth” or "liver". “Chicken meal” is technically a muscle meat but the term “meal” denotes that it has been rendered

(cooked for a long time at very high temperatures) and may be lower in quality than meat that has not been as heavily processed. A "meal" product is more commonly found in dry foods. By-products can include feet, intestines, feathers, egg shells, etc. and can be less nutritious than meat.

 

穀類根本不應該存在,但不幸的是,穀類很便宜,所以它常常被加在市售的貓食裡面. 如果要有穀,其所占的含量要非常的低. 這時就要看食物裡的碳水化合物含量. 最理想的是餵無穀飲食. 玉米,小麥及大豆被認為是常見的過敏源,而且穀物所含的碳水化合物會造成血糖升高. 大豆含有植物雌激素,且對甲狀腺有不良影響. 看看有多少貓咪有甲狀腺亢進,大豆實在不應該存在於貓食當中. 不幸的是, 大豆也常常為寵物食品製造商所使用.

Grains should be absent but, unfortunately, grains are cheap so they are included in many commercial cat foods. Think 'profit margin'. Grains are cheaper than meat. If grains are present, they should be minimal in amount. This is where checking out the carbohydrate content comes into play. It is ideal to feed a grain-free diet. Corn, wheat and soy are thought to be common allergens (as is yeast) and the carbohydrate fraction of these grains (especially grain flours) will also cause a rise in blood sugar in many cats. Soy contains phytoestrogens and also negatively influences the thyroid gland. Given how common hyperthyroidism is in the cat, soy has no business being in cat food. Unfortunately, soy is a common ingredient used by pet food manufacturers.

 

More information regarding food choices can be found on the Commercial Canned Food page at catinfo.org.

 

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