Table 8.
Average body weight, food intake, defecation frequency, faecal score, wet faecal output, and faecal dry matter (mean ± standard error of the mean) of cats fed diets with different fibre content
| Response variable | MGH | COH | p‐Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body weight, kg | 4.97 ± 0.38 | 4.99 ± 0.38 | .5835 |
| Food intake, g/d/cat | 88.35 ± 3.18 | 83.66 ± 3.08 | .2191 |
| Defecation frequency, no/day/cat | 1.30 ± 0.12 | 1.22 ± 0.12 | .5521 |
| Faecal scorea | 3.99a ± 0.27 | 3.36b ± 0.26 | .0065 |
| Wet faecal output, g/day/cat | 47.0a ± 3.03 | 28.8b ± 2.96 | <.0001 |
| Faecal dry matter, % | 48.9 ± 3.24 | 47.3 ± 3.15 | .6192 |
| Hair clump count, no | 13.19 ± 2.77 | 11.58 ± 2.74 | .3050 |
| Hair clump count per day, no/day | 2.64 ± 0.55 | 2.32 ± 0.55 | .3050 |
| Hair clump sizeb | 1.79 ± 0.23 | 2.22 ± 0.22 | .1437 |
| Hair clump weight, mg | 36.8 ± 8.91 | 32.6 ± 8.73 | .6110 |
| Total hair clump weight, mg | 674 ± 213 | 420 ± 209 | .1167 |
| Hair retained in strainer, mg | 310 ± 81 | 248 ± 80 | .0884 |
| Total hair weight, mg | 1641 ± 214 | 1,362 ± 210 | .0790 |
| Total hair weight per dry faecal weight, mg/g | 14.59b ± 2.92 | 21.04a ± 2.90 | .0004 |
| Hair clumps per dry faecal weight, no/g | 0.12b ± 0.039 | 0.19a ± 0.039 | .0013 |
Abbreviations: Dietary treatments; MGH, Miscanthus grass (n = 11), COH, control (n = 12).
abMeans with unlike superscripts differ (p < .05).
a
Faecal score: 1—liquid diarrhoea, 5—dry hard pellets, 3.5—ideal.
b
Hair mass size: extra small (<10.0 mm × < 5.0 mm; length × diameter), small (10.0–20.0 mm × 3.5–6.5 mm), medium (20.0–30.0 mm × 4.0–7.0 mm), large (30.0–40.0 mm × 4.5–8.5 mm) and extra‐large (>40.0 mm × > 5.0 mm).