Cat Food Digestibility by Brand
Hard
How much of the cat food a cat eats actually gets digested? You simulate a cat's digestive system using hydrochloric acid and meat tenderizer. Four brands of cat food are tested: IAMS, Friskies, Pet Promise, and Nutro Natural Dry.
Each 150-gram sample soaks in acid solution at pH 2 for 12 hours. This mimics the stomach. Then it soaks in meat tenderizer for another 12 hours. The tenderizer contains enzymes similar to those in a cat's small intestine.
After drying, you weigh what remains and calculate the percentage digested. IAMS had the highest digestion rate among the four brands.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that the IAMS brand, which is the most expensive, will have the highest percent of food digested and absorbed through the cat's intestine.
Method & Materials
You will label four beakers according to the cat food brands, pour hydrochloric acid and water into each beaker, add the cat food, let it sit for 12 hours, drain the acid, add meat tenderizer, let it sit for 12 hours, strain the meat tenderizer, and measure the weight of the remaining cat food.
You will need 150g of four brands of cat food, 1200ml of hydrochloric acid, a large beaker, pH paper, four beakers, a measuring cylinder, 1200ml of meat tenderizer, tap water, a digital weighing scale, a strainer, and a black marker pen.
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See what’s includedResults
The results showed that the IAMS cat food brand had the largest percent of food digested during the experiment.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it tests the digestibility of different cat food brands and provides insight into the digestive process of cats.
Also Consider
Variations of this experiment include feeding the cat with dry food, soft moist food, and canned food and examining the differences in nutrient content of various brands of dog food.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related videos
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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