Cat food for enhancing intestinal function and a method of preparing the same

Abstract

The application discloses cat food for enhancing intestinal function and a preparation method thereof, and belongs to the technical field of pet food. The cat food comprises the following components in percentage by mass: 30-70% of an animal protein source, 5-15% of animal offal, 1-5% of starch raw materials, 0.5-3% of functional oil, 0.5-3% of dietary fiber, 0.5-2% of vitamin and mineral premix, and the balance of water. The cat food is prepared through the processes of pulverization, emulsification, mixing, filling and sterilization by using the scientifically proportioned animal protein source, animal offal, starch raw materials, functional oil, dietary fiber, vitamin and mineral premix. Animal experiment verification shows that the cat food can significantly increase the concentration of short-chain fatty acids in feces, improve the feces form and dry matter content, increase the apparent digestibility of nutrients, and effectively enhance the intestinal function of cats.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of pet food technology, specifically to a cat food that enhances intestinal function and its preparation method. Background Technology

[0002] A cat's gut health is the cornerstone of its overall health, directly impacting nutrient digestion and absorption, immune system homeostasis, and quality of life. An unbalanced diet, stress, or even mild gut dysfunction can lead to decreased digestive efficiency, abnormal stool consistency, and gut microbiota imbalance. Currently, common cat food products on the market are mainly divided into two categories: dry food and wet food. Dry food is convenient to store and relatively inexpensive, but it has low moisture content and high carbohydrate content, which may increase the digestive burden on cats with long-term feeding, hindering gut health. Wet food (such as canned food and boxed meals) has high moisture content, more closely resembling a cat's natural diet. However, most commercially available wet food products focus on palatability and basic nutritional provision; products specifically formulated for gut health and scientifically validated for efficacy are relatively scarce.

[0003] Existing cat food products have the following main shortcomings in maintaining gut health: Most cat food products claiming gut health benefits lack supporting data from standardized animal testing, making it difficult for consumers to judge the actual effectiveness of the products. Some cat food products use ingredients with low digestibility, leading to insufficient digestion and absorption of dry matter, crude protein, and crude fat by cats. This not only wastes nutrients but may also cause harmful substances to be produced due to the fermentation of undigested protein in the intestines, further burdening the gut. Existing products have limited effectiveness in promoting the metabolic activity of beneficial gut bacteria, with problems such as unstable stool form, low dry matter content, and insufficient production of short-chain fatty acids being common, making it difficult to effectively maintain gut microecological balance. Some products only focus on meeting single nutritional indicators, failing to systematically optimize gut health from multiple dimensions such as raw material selection, processing technology, and the addition of functional ingredients. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of existing technologies and provide a cat food that enhances intestinal function and its preparation method. This invention uses a scientifically proportioned mixture of animal protein sources, animal offal, starchy raw materials, functional oils, dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals premixes, processed through pulverization, emulsification, mixing, filling, and sterilization to produce a wet-form cat food. Animal experiments have verified that this cat food can significantly increase the concentration of short-chain fatty acids in feces, improve fecal shape and dry matter content, and increase apparent nutrient digestibility, effectively enhancing the intestinal function of cats.

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides the following technical solution: This invention provides a cat food that enhances intestinal function, comprising the following components by weight percentage: 30%–70% animal protein source, 5%–15% animal offal, 1%–5% starch raw materials, 0.5%–3% functional oils, 0.5%–3% dietary fiber, 0.5%–2% vitamin and mineral premix, and the remainder being water.

[0006] As a preferred embodiment of the cat food for enhancing intestinal function described in this invention, the animal protein source is selected from at least one of fresh chicken, fresh duck, and fresh fish; the animal offal is selected from at least one of fresh chicken liver and fresh chicken heart; the starch raw material is selected from at least one of sweet potato starch, potato starch, and tapioca starch; the functional oil is selected from at least one of fish oil and flaxseed oil; and the dietary fiber is selected from at least one of cellulose, beet pulp, and chicory root powder.

[0007] As a preferred embodiment of the cat food for enhancing intestinal function described in this invention, it is made from the following raw materials in the indicated weight percentages: 55%–65% fresh chicken meat, 15%–25% enzymatically hydrolyzed fresh chicken meat, 6%–10% fresh chicken liver, 3%–5% fresh chicken heart, 0.3%–0.7% egg yolk, 0.4%–0.6% fish oil, 1.3%–1.7% sweet potato flour, 1.4%–1.6% potato flour, 0.5%–1.5% tapioca starch, 0.5%–1.5% cellulose, 1%–2% fruits and vegetables, and 0.4%–0.6% additives.

[0008] As a preferred embodiment of the cat food that enhances intestinal function according to the present invention, the cat food is a meat paste-like wet food with a moisture content of 70% to 85%, and the cat food is packaged in a meal box or can.

[0009] A method for preparing the above-mentioned cat food that enhances intestinal function includes the following steps: S1. The animal protein source and animal offal are crushed and emulsified to obtain emulsified material; S2. Add starch raw materials, dietary fiber, vitamin and mineral premix to the emulsified material, mix evenly to obtain a mixture; S3. Add functional oils to the mixture and continue mixing until homogeneous; S4. The material obtained in step S3 is filled, sealed and sterilized to obtain the cat food that enhances intestinal function.

[0010] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: Animal studies have verified that feeding cats with the cat food of this invention improves the apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein digestibility, and crude fat digestibility, indicating that the formula of this invention has higher overall digestibility, enabling cats to more fully absorb and utilize the nutrients in the feed. The fecal dry matter content is significantly increased, indicating lower fecal water content and better stool consistency. While specifically improving intestinal function, it can significantly enhance the metabolic activity of beneficial intestinal flora. It provides comprehensive nutritional support to meet the daily nutritional needs of cats and can be used as a long-term dietary management program. Detailed Implementation

[0011] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below.

[0012] Example 1 (Best Implementation) Formula composition: This embodiment provides a cat food that enhances intestinal function, made from the following raw materials by weight percentage: 60% fresh chicken meat, 20% enzymatically hydrolyzed fresh chicken meat, 8% fresh chicken liver, 4% fresh chicken heart, 0.5% egg yolk, 0.5% fish oil, 1.5% sweet potato flour, 1.5% potato flour, 1.0% tapioca starch, 1.0% cellulose, 1.5% fruits and vegetables, 0.5% additives, and the remainder is water.

[0013] Preparation method: S1. Fresh chicken meat, fresh chicken liver, and fresh chicken heart are pulverized and then emulsified at 4-15℃ for 20 minutes to obtain emulsified material. S2. Add sweet potato flour, potato flour, cassava starch, cellulose, fruit and vegetable, vitamin and mineral premix (additive) to the emulsified material, mix evenly to obtain a mixture; S3. Add fish oil and egg yolk to the mixture and continue mixing until homogeneous; S4. Fill the material obtained in step S3 into a food container, seal it, and sterilize it at 121°C for 30 minutes under high temperature and high pressure. After cooling, you will get cat food that enhances intestinal function.

[0014] Example 2 (Enzymatic hydrolysis treatment scheme) The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that in step S1, the fresh chicken meat and fresh chicken liver undergo enzymatic hydrolysis before being pulverized and emulsified. A complex protease is used for hydrolysis at 50°C for 60 minutes. The rest is the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0015] Example 3 (Formula Ratio Boundary Verification) The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is as follows: 55% fresh chicken meat, 25% enzymatically hydrolyzed fresh chicken meat, 6% fresh chicken liver, 5% fresh chicken heart, 0.3% egg yolk, 0.6% fish oil, 1.3% sweet potato starch, 1.6% potato flour, 0.5% tapioca starch, 1.5% cellulose, 1.0% fruits and vegetables, and 0.6% additives. The rest is the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0016] Example 4 (Formula Ratio Boundary Verification) The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is as follows: 65% fresh chicken meat, 15% enzymatically hydrolyzed fresh chicken meat, 10% fresh chicken liver, 3% fresh chicken heart, 0.7% egg yolk, 0.4% fish oil, 1.7% sweet potato starch, 1.4% potato flour, 1.5% tapioca starch, 0.5% cellulose, 2.0% fruits and vegetables, and 0.4% additives. The rest is the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0017] Example 5 (Different Protein Source Schemes) The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that fresh duck meat is used instead of fresh chicken meat as the animal protein source. Everything else is the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0018] Example 6 (Low Moisture Content Scheme) The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that the sterilization temperature is 115℃, the sterilization time is 45 minutes, and the moisture content of the finished product is 72%. Everything else is the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0019] Comparative Example 1 (Basal Diet Control Group) We used commercially available adult cat maintenance dry food as a control group, without adding any functional oils or dietary fiber fortification ingredients.

[0020] Comparative Example 2 (No dietary fiber added) The formula does not contain cellulose, and is otherwise the same as in Example 1.

[0021] Comparative Example 3 (without added functional oils) Fish oil is not added to the formula; otherwise, it is the same as in Example 1.

[0022] Efficacy verification test To verify the intestinal function enhancement effect of the cat food of this invention, a systematic animal experiment was conducted using a self-controlled pre- and post-controlled experimental design.

[0023] 1. Laboratory animals Six healthy adult British Shorthair cats (3 males and 3 females), aged 2-4 years, with an average weight of 4.5 ± 0.3 kg, were selected. Prior to the experiment, all cats underwent physical examination, complete blood count, and blood biochemistry tests to confirm their health, had no history of gastrointestinal diseases, and had not received antibiotics or probiotics within the past 3 months. All cats were housed individually in a controlled environment in a petting zoo with free access to water, and a daily light / dark cycle of 12 hours of light / 12 hours of darkness.

[0024] 2. Experimental Design A self-controlled before-and-after design was employed to minimize the impact of individual differences on the results. The total trial period was 40 days. Adaptation period (week 1): All cats are fed a basic diet for 7 days to adapt to the metabolic cage environment; Control period (week 2): Continue feeding the basal diet and collect formal samples for 7 days; Food transition period (week 3): Over 5 days, gradually replace the basal diet with 100% experimental diet (the cat food of this invention). Experimental period (weeks 3-6): The experimental diet was fed stably for 21 days, and formal samples were collected on day 21.

[0025] 3. Sample collection and index determination During the sample collection weeks of the control and experimental periods, the food intake of each cat was accurately recorded daily, and all feces were collected, weighed, and immediately frozen at -20°C. After the collection period, the feces of each cat for 7 days were combined, thawed, homogenized, and sampled for analysis.

[0026] Nutrient apparent digestibility determination: The contents of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and crude fat (EE) in the diet and feces were determined separately, and the apparent digestibility was calculated.

[0027] Stool morphology score: The on-site score is based on a 7-point scale when collecting stool daily (1 = hard and dry, 4 = ideal cylindrical, moist and formed, 7 = watery diarrhea).

[0028] Determination of short-chain fatty acids in feces: Gas chromatography (equipped with an FID detector) was used for analysis, and quantification was performed using the external standard method.

[0029] 4. Test Results 4.1 Apparent nutrient digestibility As shown in Table 1, compared with the control group fed with the basal diet, the apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein and crude fat in the experimental cats fed with the cat food of this invention was significantly improved (P<0.05).

[0030] Table 1. Changes in apparent nutrient digestibility (n=6) Dry matter digestibility 78.2±2.1 84.7±1.8 +6.5 0.013 Crude protein digestibility 81.5±1.9 88.3±1.5 +6.8 0.008 Crude fat digestibility 85.6±2.3 90.1±1.7 +4.5 0.022 Results analysis: After feeding the cat food of this invention, the digestibility of dry matter increased by 6.5 percentage points (P=0.013), the digestibility of crude protein increased by 6.8 percentage points (P=0.008), and the digestibility of crude fat increased by 4.5 percentage points (P=0.022). The apparent digestibility of the three major nutrients was significantly improved, indicating that the cat food of this invention has excellent overall digestibility.

[0031] 4.2 Fecal quality As shown in Table 2, the fecal quality of the experimental cats was significantly improved after feeding them the cat food of the present invention.

[0032] Table 2. Changes in fecal characteristics (n=6) Stool morphology score (points) 4.8±0.4 3.9±0.3 -0.9 0.017 Fecal dry matter content (%) 24.5±1.6 28.3±1.2 +3.8 0.009 Average number of bowel movements per day (times) 1.3±0.2 1.2±0.1 -0.1 0.245 Results analysis: The fecal morphology score decreased significantly from 4.8 to 3.9 (P=0.017), which is closer to the ideal standard of 4, indicating better fecal formation; the fecal dry matter content increased significantly from 24.5% to 28.3% (P=0.009), indicating a decrease in fecal water content; the average number of bowel movements per day decreased slightly, but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.245).

[0033] 4.3 Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) Concentration As shown in Table 3, after feeding the cat food of the present invention, the concentration of total SCFAs and the concentration of each major component in the feces increased significantly (P<0.01).

[0034] Table 3. Changes in fecal short-chain fatty acid concentration (μmol / g wet stool, n=6) Acetic acid 45.2±5.1 62.8±4.3 +38.9 0.003 propionic acid 15.6±2.2 22.1±1.9 +41.7 0.005 butyric acid 9.0±1.5 14.0±1.2 +55.6 0.001 Total SCFAs 71.3±7.8 101.7±6.5 +42.7 0.002 Results analysis: The average concentration of total SCFAs increased by approximately 42.7% (P=0.002); the concentration of butyrate, which is particularly crucial for gut health, increased most significantly, reaching 55.6% (P=0.001); the concentrations of acetic acid and propionic acid also increased significantly in tandem (P=0.003 and P=0.005, respectively). These results demonstrate that the cat food of this invention can significantly enhance the metabolic activity of beneficial gut bacteria and promote the production of short-chain fatty acids.

[0035] Comparative experiment To verify the contribution of each key component of the present invention to the enhancement of intestinal function, a component deletion comparison experiment was conducted.

[0036] Table 4 Comparison of the impact of different formulations on key indicators Example 1 (Complete Formula) 101.7 14.0 84.7 3.9 Comparative Example 2 (No dietary fiber added) 78.5 10.2 80.3 4.3 Comparative Example 3 (without added functional oils) 82.3 10.8 81.5 4.2 Comparative Example 1 (Basic Dry Rations) 71.3 9.0 78.2 4.8 Results analysis: Compared with Example 1, the total SCFAs (78.5 μmol / g) and butyric acid concentration (10.2 μmol / g) of Comparative Example 2 (without added dietary fiber) were significantly lower, indicating that dietary fiber is a key substrate source for intestinal microbial fermentation and acid production. The indicators of Comparative Example 3 (without added functional oils) also decreased, indicating that functional oils have a synergistic promoting effect on intestinal health. The complete formulation of Example 1 performed best in all indicators, verifying the scientific validity of the synergistic formulation of the components in this invention.

[0037] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to embodiments, various modifications can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the exhaustive description of these combinations is not provided in this specification merely for the purpose of saving space and resources. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A cat food that enhances intestinal function, characterized in that, It contains the following components by weight percentage: 30%–70% animal protein source, 5%–15% animal offal, 1%–5% starch raw materials, 0.5%–3% functional oils, 0.5%–3% dietary fiber, 0.5%–2% vitamin and mineral premix, and the balance being water.

2. The cat food for enhancing intestinal function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The animal protein source is selected from at least one of fresh chicken, fresh duck, and fresh fish; the animal offal is selected from at least one of fresh chicken liver and fresh chicken heart; the starch raw material is selected from at least one of sweet potato starch, potato starch, and tapioca starch; the functional oil is selected from at least one of fish oil and flaxseed oil; and the dietary fiber is selected from at least one of cellulose, beet pulp, and chicory root powder.

3. The cat food for enhancing intestinal function according to claim 1, characterized in that, It is made from the following raw materials by weight percentage: 55%–65% fresh chicken meat, 15%–25% enzymatically hydrolyzed fresh chicken meat, 6%–10% fresh chicken liver, 3%–5% fresh chicken heart, 0.3%–0.7% egg yolk, 0.4%–0.6% fish oil, 1.3%–1.7% sweet potato flour, 1.4%–1.6% potato flour, 0.5%–1.5% tapioca starch, 0.5%–1.5% cellulose, 1%–2% fruits and vegetables, and 0.4%–0.6% additives.

4. The cat food for enhancing intestinal function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cat food is a meat-based wet food with a moisture content of 70% to 85%, and the cat food is packaged in a food container or can.

5. A method for preparing cat food that enhances intestinal function as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. The animal protein source and animal offal are crushed and emulsified to obtain emulsified material; S2. Add starch raw materials, dietary fiber, vitamin and mineral premix to the emulsified material, mix evenly to obtain a mixture; S3. Add functional oils to the mixture and continue mixing until homogeneous; S4. The material obtained in step S3 is filled, sealed and sterilized to obtain the cat food that enhances intestinal function.

6. The preparation method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The emulsification process in step S1 takes 10 to 30 minutes and the emulsification temperature is 4 to 15°C. The sterilization process in step S4 uses high-temperature and high-pressure sterilization, with a sterilization temperature of 115 to 125°C and a sterilization time of 15 to 45 minutes.

7. The preparation method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The animal protein source and animal viscera mentioned in step S1 are further subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis before being pulverized and emulsified. The enzymatic hydrolysis is carried out using active yeast or complex protease, with a hydrolysis temperature of 45-55°C and a hydrolysis time of 30-120 minutes.

8. The use of the cat food for enhancing intestinal function according to any one of claims 1 to 7 in the preparation of products for improving feline intestinal health, characterized in that, The improvement of feline gut health includes at least one of the following: increasing apparent nutrient digestibility, improving fecal form, increasing fecal dry matter content, increasing the concentration of short-chain fatty acids in feces, and promoting the metabolic activity of beneficial intestinal flora.