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Whole prey diets encourage species-typical behaviors making them popular in the zoo and home setting for captive exotic and domestic felids, respectively. We evaluated macronutrient, mineral, and long-chain fatty acid composition of 20 whole prey items: mice (1–2, 10–13, 21–25, 30–40, and 150–180 days of age); rats (1–4, 10–13, 21–25, 33–42, and >60 days of age); rabbits (still born, 30–45 days, >65 days with skin, and >65 days of age with skin removed); chicken (1–3 days of age, ground adult); duck (ground adult); and quail (1–3, 21–40, and >60 days of age). Composition of whole prey was highly variable (15–40% DM, 34–75% CP, 10–60% fat, and 8–18% ash). A majority of whole prey samples (15/20) had at least one mineral or fatty acid below AAFCO [2012] or NRC [2006] minimum recommended concentrations for domestic cats (K, Na, Cl, Mg, Cu, Mn, and/or Zn; total fat, linolenic acid, arachidonic acid and/or EPA and DHA). These data identify potential nutrient deficiencies allowing for alterations in dietary formulation prior to long-term feeding. Zoo Biol. 33:327–335, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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