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Chloride - Cl in dog and cat diets

A short guide to the role of Chloride - Cl in dog and cat nutrition.

Chloride - Cl

Chloride is the main anion of the extracellular fluid. Together with sodium it regulates water balance, osmotic pressure and the acid-base balance of the blood, and it is also the main building block of hydrochloric acid (HCl) in the stomach [1]. The NRC requirement for an adult dog is MR 150 mg, RA 300 mg / 1000 kcal ME; in the cat the RA is 240 mg / 1000 kcal ME [1].

Where it's found: In a raw diet chloride supplies itself — meat, blood and organs cover the requirement without any counting. It is a component that in BARF "takes care of itself". If sodium is within range, chloride almost always is too — these two ions go in pair.

Deficiency: One resulting from the composition of a raw diet itself is very unlikely. If it occurs, it is with persistent vomiting, during which the animal loses hydrochloric acid (HCl) from the stomach along with large amounts of chloride, as well as with severe diarrhea or kidney disease [2]. This leads to metabolic alkalosis (the blood becomes too alkaline) — the animal becomes lethargic, apathetic, shallow breathing and muscle tremors appear. Look then for the cause in a disease, not in the recipe. Cats tolerate the loss of electrolytes during vomiting and dehydration worse, entering states requiring veterinary intervention more quickly [2].

Excess: Because chloride in the diet most often occurs in pair with sodium, its excess carries the same risks as an overdose of sodium (salt poisoning, acidosis, extreme thirst, vomiting, neurological disturbances) [3]. A healthy animal efficiently excretes the excess in the urine — the problem appears almost exclusively with salting food or feeding salty human products. Cats with chronic kidney disease are a group of particular risk here.

What to watch for

Do not count or supplement chloride separately — raw meat, blood and organs supply it automatically. Deviations of chloride in a blood test usually point to a disease or dehydration, not to a poorly composed diet [2]. Chloride is best tracked indirectly, by keeping an eye on sodium — see Sodium : potassium ratio.

Sources

  1. National Research Council (2006). Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. National Academies Press. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10668/nutrient-requirements-of-dogs-and-cats
  2. Ha YS, Hopper K, Epstein SE (2013). Incidence, Nature, and Etiology of Metabolic Alkalosis in Dogs and Cats. JVIM 27(4):847-53. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.12122
  3. Merck Veterinary Manual. Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/management-and-nutrition/nutrition-small-animals/nutritional-requirements-of-small-animals