Vitamin C is the general term for compounds with ascorbic acid bioactivity. It is a water-soluble vitamin abundant in fruits and vegetables. It is an essential vitamin for cats, helping to maintain normal cell structure and promote wound healing. It plays a regulatory role in redox metabolism; a deficiency can cause scurvy.
Vitamin C is the most effective water-soluble antioxidant in extracellular fluid, exhibiting anti-lipid peroxidation effects both inside and outside cells. Its protective effect differs from that of intracellular free radical scavengers SOD and GSH-PX. Vitamin C has a stronger antioxidant effect than other plasma components such as bilirubin and α-tocopherol, and it blocks ongoing lipid peroxidation reactions in plasma, thereby protecting biological membranes from lipid peroxidation damage. It forms the first line of defense in the extracellular fluid antioxidant defense system.
Vitamin C also plays an antioxidant role in the normal functioning of the redox chain in the body, thereby protecting red blood cells and scavenging oxygen free radicals in tissues. Vitamin C also exerts its antioxidant effect by scavenging free radicals and inhibiting lipid peroxidation within intact liver cells, thus protecting liver function. In addition to directly scavenging free radicals, vitamin C can also assist vitamin E and glutathione in scavenging free radicals.
I. Clinical symptoms of vitamin C deficiency
Initial symptoms include lethargy, decreased appetite, and slow growth and development in young pets. If left untreated, characteristic hemorrhagic symptoms will appear, such as: swollen, painful, and bleeding gums, eventually leading to ulcers; in severe cases, ulcers or necrosis may occur on the cheeks and tongue. Gum necrosis or alveolar recession can cause loose teeth, even tooth loss, excessive drooling, and halitosis. Joint swelling, pain, and difficulty moving may occur, leading to a preference for lying down. Subcutaneous petechiae, follicular keratosis, and bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, bladder, and nasal mucosa may also occur.
II. Causes of Vitamin C Deficiency
Newborn pets cannot synthesize vitamin C for a certain period of time and must obtain it from their mother's milk. If the vitamin C content in the mother's milk is insufficient or lacking, it can easily cause illness. During gastrointestinal or liver diseases, the absorption, utilization, and synthesis of vitamin C are impaired. Pneumonia, chronic infectious diseases, or poisoning can cause a large consumption of vitamin C in the body, leading to relative deficiency and illness. During chronic diseases and stress, the consumption of vitamin C increases relatively, which can lead to relative deficiency. In addition, because vitamin C is easily oxidized, severe oxidation of vitamin C during feed processing can cause vitamin C deficiency in feed. Therefore, long-term feeding of feed lacking vitamin C is also one of the causes of deficiency.
III. Prevention and Treatment of Vitamin C Deficiency
Improve feeding management by providing fresh feed rich in vitamin C. When designing and supplementing the daily vitamin nutrition requirements of pet cats, the actual needs of various vitamins should be comprehensively considered to ensure that pet cats receive sufficient and reasonable nutrition. Long-term use of feed with excessively low or high vitamin content, especially feed with excessively low or high fat-soluble vitamin content, can have adverse effects on the pet's growth and development or the maintenance of normal metabolism.
While some fruits and vegetables are rich in Vitamin C, they are not palatable to cats. A way to supplement Vitamin C is to add Vitamin C tablets to their cat's food. However, some owners report that their cats don't like vegetables. This dislike, or aversion to certain types of vegetables, is often due to the cat's dislike of the particular taste, the high fiber content making them difficult to chew and swallow, or simply the cat's picky eating habits.
