# Lipid Fraction Properties of Homemade Raw Cat Foods and Selected Commercial Cat Foods
## 4 Discussion  
### Lipid Fraction Properties of Self-Prepared Cat Food  
The fat content in self-prepared foods oscillated around 30% (Table 1), indicating an effective extraction. The differences may be associated with variations in the composition of individual meat cuts, especially when the food is produced in very small batches. The SP foods should have a composition similar to what cats eat in nature. [PERSON] et al. [PERSON] et al. (2019) estimated the dietary profile of free-roaming feral cats based on a composition of the consumed preys living in the wild. The fat content varied between preys, from 9% to 31%, and the mean fat content in the diet of cats was 22.8% in dry matter. Pet food regulatory bodies, notably the Association of American Feed Control Officials in the United States and the European Pet Food Industry Federation in Europe, recommend a minimum of 9 g of fat per 100 g of dry matter, which is a significantly lower content than what a cat eats in nature. The fat content of all raw foods is significantly higher than the minimum dietary levels for cats (Table 3), but differs from the mean value for preys set by [PERSON] (2019). The obtained results for LA and ALA are consistent with the literature data, suggesting that LA is found mostly in vegetable oils and only in some animal fats (e.g., chicken fat); beet is not a rich source of omega-6 fatty acids [PERSON] et al. (2019); [PERSON] et al. (2019); [PERSON] et al. (2019). Moreover, very high contents of oleic acid as well as high contents of palmitic and stearic acids in SP-1 and SP-5 are associated with high amounts of these acids in beef [PERSON] et al. (2019). The amount of individual EFA in a cat's diet affects its health, growth and reproduction. The results of EFA for tested diets, whole prey items (available data only for captive preys) [PERSON] et al. (2019) and recommendations are presented as grams per kg of dry matter (Table 3). The concentrations of total FA as well as EFA for all foods are above minimal recommendations for all life stages. The LA and AA content is highly variable, but it can be noticed that ALA content is considerably lower in whole prey items than in self-prepared foods. The EPA+DHA content is several times higher in self-prepared food than in whole prey items. A higher amount of EPA+DHA is beneficial for many health aspects and essential at the stage of growth and reproduction. The low EPA+DHA content in whole prey items is probably connected with their diet during the farming period (data for free-living preys are  
Figure 3: The oxidation induction time at 100 \({}^{\circ}\)C obtained for the lipid fraction extracted from commercial and self-prepared cat foods. Different letters indicate that the samples are significantly different at \(p<0.05\) (the upper cases (A–G) for commercial cat foods and the lower cases (a–e) for self-prepared ones). unavailable). This content in the wild preys is supposed to be higher because of differences in their food. The higher EFA content in SP foods is also due to the overall higher fat content of raw diets. The fat content of the prey is closer to the model fat content established by [PERSON] [35]. Another reason for the differences is the different content and ratio of meat, bones and internal organs used in the raw diets and their other content in the whole animal. In addition, not all internal organs are easily available on the market and they are replaced in self-prepared diets with those easily available. The distribution of selected FA in TAG was analyzed (Figure 2) and it can be noticed that in most cases SFA (C16:0 and C18:0) occupy the external positions of TAGs. The SFA in _sn_-1 and _sn_-3 positions will be poorly absorbed in the digestive tract because they will cleave off and react with free calcium ions to form insoluble calcium soaps [17; 18]. This will cause both calcium and FA losses in the feces. In turn, LA, which is EFA for mammals, mainly occupied the _sn_-2 position of TAGs and subsequently will be easily absorbed [17].