[Digestion of carbohydrates in cats]

An introductory study of the literature on the digestion of carbohydrates in cats is followed by a report on personal studies in which three sources of carbohydrates (beet sugar, partially decomposed potato flour and wood cellulose) were used in concentrations of 5, 10 and 15 per cent of dry matter. The passage time was measured and digestibility was determined by the indicator Celite 545. The passage time was slightly higher on each carbohydrate supplementation, and the average digestibility of the flour and cellulose was 95 and 31 per cent respectively. Digestibility was found to be reduced when higher percentages were used in mixing.