DIGESTIVE ANATOMY AN D PHYSIOLOGY
Overview of the digestive systems of the Asian leopard cat and the Snow leopard.
GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT
ASIAN LEOPARD CAT
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At the moment there is no specific Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) diagram for the leopard cat. However since they share they share similar anatomy and diet with a domestic cat we can use it as a representation of the Asian leopard cat GIT [24,25,28]
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SNOW LEOPARD
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Currently, there are no specific GIT diagrams for the snow leopard. Just like the Asian leopard, they share similar anatomy and diet with a domestic cat, meaning that we can use it as a representation of the Snow leopard GIT. The only difference is that the GIT of the Snow leopard would be larger since it is a larger felid [24,25,28]
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DIGESTIVE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
Asian Leopard cat
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Digestive anatomy and physiology
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Like the domestic cat, they are obligate carnivores and most obtain most of their nutrients from animal sources. The digestive anatomy of the domestic cat will be used to explain the digestive anatomy of the Asian leopard cat since they are very similar. [25]
Liver [25]
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High rate of gluconeogenesis (ex.pyruvate carboxylase)
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This mean that they needs an easily digestible source of energy to meet this demand. (i.e. animal protein)
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Digestive tract
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Since meat is easy to digest, there isn't a need for a long GIT to help breakdown food particles. They have a short intestine [28]
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Stomach consists of unilateral dilation of the digestive tract [24,31]
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Hindgut (i.e. caecum, colon) is very short [24,31]. They don't ferment their food so a long hindgut isn't really useful
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Large mucosal area (49 cm squared in the jejunum), which aids with nutrient digestion [26].
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Oral cavity [28]
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Weak jaw closing muscles
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Small snout allows for a greater bit force
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Incisors strip muscle from bones
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Have 30 teeth
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Horny papillae covering the tongue aid in pulling meat of bones and also to groom fur.
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Snow leopard
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Digestive anatomy and physiology
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Like the domestic cat, they are obligate carnivores and most obtain most of their nutrients from animal sources. Since there is no specific information on the Snow leopard we can use the digestive system of a domestic cat and cheetah as representation of the digestive system of the Snow leopard [25].
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Liver [25]
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High rate of gluconeogenesis
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Digestive tract
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Short intestine length [28].
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Stomach consists of unilateral dilation of the digestive tract [24,31]
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Hindgut (i.e. caecum, colon) is very short [24,31].
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Large mucosal area , which aids with nutrient digestion [26].
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Oral cavity [28]
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Have strong jaw muscles
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Snort snout allows for greater bitting force
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Have 30 teeth
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Horny papillae covering the tongue aid in pulling meat of bones and also to groom fur.
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Incisors help to remove muscle fromm bones
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