Scientific knowledge about companion animal nutrition has increased incrementally, following the phenomenon seen in several areas of knowledge. In the last decade may be the priority of research was directed to the use of nutrients in health promotion, prevention of degenerative diseases, improve quality of life and increased life expectancy of dogs and cats. This direction of research is largely explained by the importance that dogs and cats taken in people's lives, making that the decisions of the owners about the nutrition of their animals resembled those which adopt for themselves. The publication of the new revision of Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats in 2006 was perhaps the most significant recent development, bringing new understanding of energy and nutrient needs at different developmental stages and physiological states. Despite these advances, further research is needed in the area of physical-chemical characterization and use of ingredients, effects of the extrusion process and even nutritional needs, which has a small base of available articles, many of them quite old. Perhaps the most important scientific challenge in nutrition of dogs and cats are carbohydrate metabolism, the importance of lean body mass in health, gerontology, the relationship between intestinal microbiota and health, immunonutrition and the nutritional management of important clinical conditions specific to these animals.
cats; dogs; nutrients; nutritional diseases; nutritional requirements
