Jaguar (
Panthera onca)
Care Manual
41
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Commercially prepared meat mixes should be formulated to meet the nutrient needs specific to cats. As
such, these products have the advantage of requiring no additional supplementation. However, soft diets
provide little abrasion for good dental health and thus should be fed with whole prey, bones, or carcass.
Meat mixes have traditionally consisted of predominately horse or beef. More recently, pork products
have become available and appear to be well digested similar to beef and horse (C. Iske, personal
communication, 2014). In general, these diets are well digested by jaguars. Studies comparing
digestibility of meat mixes consisting predominately of horse, beef, bison, and elk fed to large cats (lion,
cheetah, tiger, jaguar) and domestic cats show high digestibility of dry matter (75–90%), organic matter
(79–96%), crude protein (81–97%), and fat (87–97%) with variability attributable
to level and type of fiber,
collagen content, ingredients, and possibly species (Morris
et al., 1974; Vester
et al., 2008; Vester
et al.,
2010; Wynne, 1989; Kerr
et al., 2013a; Kerr
et al., 2013b). Domestic cats fed the same diets had similar
or greater nutrient digestibilities, further supporting the domestic cat as an appropriate model for exotic
carnivores.
Muscle meat does not provide a complete diet. Muscle contains too little calcium, vitamins A, D, and
E, and other micronutrients to support health without additional sources of these nutrients. Muscle meat
can be fed in combination with other diet items which meet the target nutrient levels so that additional
supplementation is not required. For example, muscle meat is often utilized as a training tool or a
medication vector. If muscle meat is going to be fed at a significant level in
the diet or exclusively, the
following supplementation is recommended per 2 kg of muscle: 5 g calcium carbonate, 10 g dicalcium
phosphate and 1.5 g (1 tablet) Centrum multi vitamin mineral tablets (Ullrey & Bernard,
1989). Commercially available supplements specifically designed to balance
muscle meat like Mazuri
Carnivore supplement and Nebraska Meat Complete with Taurine can also be fed.
Commercial meat mixes contain little fiber (3% max, dry matter basis), and sources are typically
either cellulose or beet pulp. Cellulose is considered unfermentable, insoluble, and non-viscous, while
beet pulp is considered moderately fermentable with viscous and non-viscous components. Fermentable
fiber has been suggested to promote intestinal health in domestic cats by supporting intestinal cells and
microflora, in part due to production of short chain fatty acids (Barry
et al., 2010)
.
Small exotic felids
(leopard cat, caracal) have been maintained on diets including fructo-oligosaccharides, another
fermentable carbohydrate
(Edwards
et al., 2001). In general, in large exotic felids, beet pulp appears to
increase
fecal wet weight, fecal score, and fecal metabolites; however, cellulose increases fecal dry
weight and dry matter. Larger species (tigers) appear to need more insoluble fiber for appropriate feces
(Kerr
et al., 2013b, Vester
et al., 2008; Vester
et al., 2010). In these studies, type of fiber also affected
some macronutrient digestibilities, but the authors suggested that the impact would not be physiologically
significant and that lower digestibilities could be beneficial to colon health by decreasing bacterial protein
production. This in turn decreases fermentation and generation of putrefactive
compounds including
ammonia, branch chain amino acids, phenols, and indoles. In summary, benefits exist for both types of
fiber, but the ideal mix is unknown at this time (Allen
et al., 1999).
Bones are recommended to be provided for abrasion, for dental health, and for enrichment, provided
abnormal deleterious wear such as loss of enamel or damage to the teeth
does not occur (Briggs &
Scheels, 2005). Broken and cracked teeth were the top health issue from a recent survey. Fifty-five
percent of responding institutions reported this problem. It is not clear from the
survey if these cases were
associated with bone feeding. Providing bones twice weekly may favor more frequent plaque
dislodgement and markedly reduced calculus formation and gingivitis (Haberstroh
et al., 1983). As a
comparative example, bones commonly fed to lions include: horse neck bones, horse tails, oxtails,
knuckle bones and femurs. Rib bones are less common (AZA Lion Species Survival Plan, 2012.).
Inspection Standards: All meat and meat products shall originate from animals slaughtered in plants
subject to the Meat and Poultry Inspection Operations regulations of the USDA Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS) (United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety Inspection Service,
2016), or under a system of inspection approved by FSIS. All bones, cartilage, heavy connective tissue,
lymph glands, and central nervous system tissue should be removed. Likewise, meat and meat products
that originate from animals or carcasses designated as 3-D or 4-D should not be used. Other (non-meat)
ingredients shall conform to standards as defined by the Association of American Feed Control Officials
(AAFCO) (
www.aafco.org
). The product should be routinely monitored for specific microbial populations.
The diet should test negative for the presence of
Salmonella and
Listeria and within specified tolerance
limits for total coliforms and
E. coli.