Nutrition of the cat

After designing a practical stock diet that would support growth and reproduction of cats maintained under laboratory conditions, the next step was to ascertain the minimal level of protein necessary for normal growth on a mixed diet, since protein sources formed the most expensive of the ingredients used (Dickinson & Scott, 1956).The experiments briefly reported earlier (Dickinson & Scot!, 1955) indicated that, with the type of mixed diet used, growth was satisfactory only when the protein fraction exceeded 30% of the dry weight of the diet. EXPERIMENTAL General.The origin, selection and management of the kittens were similar to those described in a previous paper (Dickinson & Scott, 1954); most were born and reared in the laboratory and the rest were obtained at weaning from domestic sources.Each kitten was weighed three times a week and its general condition noted.