AUTHOR: A.C. Longland1 ,, M.K. Theodorou 1,and I.H. Burger
Companion animals are those species which have a special association with man and are dependent on him to some degree, dogs, cats, fish, birds, horses, certain rodents and rabbits, feeding companion animals, irrespective of their role, is to promote a long and healthy life and, to achieve this goal, many are fed at or near their maintenance levels throughout adulthood, increase body weight and to accommodate changes in metabolism during ageing, nutrition of companion animals, dogs and cats, different life stages of growth, maintenance, gestation and lactation, nutrient requirement refers to the quantity of an essential nutrient needed by the animal for a given physiological state, metabolic function, genetic potential of the animal, bio-availability of nutrients, target species, Energy is required for growth, maintenance, reproduction and lactation, Energy is provided by carbohydrate, fat and protein, fat provides essential fatty acids (EFAs) and is a carrier for the fat-soluble vitamins, All animals require glucose to supply energy to the tissues and as a substrate for the production of glycoproteins, Glucose is provided either directly, through degradation of carbohydrates or via the metabolism of gluconeogenic substrates such as glycerol or amino acids, Plants and microorganisms can synthesize proteins from nitrogenous compounds, but animals cannot synthesize the amino group and thus require a supply of dietary amino acids, Minerals are essential for maintaining, at various levels, acidbase balances, tissue structure and osmotic pressure, in addition to being key components in many enzyme systems, Vitamins are organic compounds essential to metabolic regulation. They may be fat soluble (A, D, E and K ) or water soluble (the B vitamins and vitamin C),
