Energy requirement and food intake behaviour in young adult intact male cats with and without predisposition to overweight.

Obesity is a common problem in cats. In the experimental cat family of the institute of animal nutrition besides a "normal" lean phenotype, cats with predisposition to an overweight phenotype are present. To investigate energy requirements and food intake behaviour of intact male cats of different phenotypes, six "normal" lean cats (GL) and six cats disposed to overweight (GO) were used. At the beginning of the experiment, all cats had an ideal body condition score of 5. To reach this the GO cats had to pass a weight-loss program. Energy requirements of the cats were determined using respiration chambers, whereas the amount and frequency of food intake was measured with a feeding station recording the data automatically. Energy requirement at weight constancy of the GO cats was even on fat-free mass (FFM) significantly (P = 0.02) lower (162.6 kJ/kg FFM/d) than that of the "normal" lean cats (246 kJ/kg FFM/d). The GO cats also showed a higher food intake 34.5 +/- 1.5 g dry matter/kg body weight(0.67) compared to the GL cats (24.0 +/- 2.1g dry matter/kg body weight(0.67))(P = 0.001). In conclusion quantifiable differences in food intake and behaviour in cats predisposed to overweight compared to "normal" lean cats were found.