User talk:Nmccarth2
| This user is a student editor in University_of_Guelph/Pet_Nutrition_(Fall) . |
Welcome!
[edit]Hello, Nmccarth2, and welcome to Wikipedia! My name is Ian and I work with the Wiki Education Foundation; I help support students who are editing as part of a class assignment.
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If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me on my talk page. Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 18:59, 17 November 2017 (UTC)
Your sandbox is User:Nmccarth2/sandbox. Please use that, rather than your user page. Chris Troutman (talk) 00:32, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
Feedback
[edit]Feedback on your edits to kitten
The goal of kitten nutrition is to provide high caloric content by utilizing specific macronutrient ratios in order to meet the high energy demands of growth.
This won't work. Wikipedia articles are supposed to describe what reliable sources have said about a topic, they can't advocate for a particular position. You can't tell people what's right or wrong, even on a topic like feeding kittens.
About 70% of the body’s immune system is in the gastrointestinal tract; therefore, overall health is largely linked to the health of the kitten’s gut. In order to optimize gut health, it is important to optimize the link between the gut-associated lymphoid tissue and the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract. This can be accomplished through proper nutrition and establishing a healthy gut from birth.
- This is unsourced. Everything you add to the article needs to be supported by reliable sources. This is especially true in a case like this, where you're making specific, numeric claims.
- You need to start a section by talking about that thing. So you need to describe the role of nutrition in establishing immunity. Background information like this might be OK to add after, but you need to get the main point in first.
- The last sentence, again, is agenda-focused.
A commercial cat food designed specifically for kittens can be offered beginning at 4 weeks of age.
This is too much like offering advice, which is against Wikipedia policy. You could say something to they effect that they're often fed kitten food at that age, or that it's recommended (and by whom). But the focus should be on describing what's done or what's recommended.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is another vital nutrient that can be supplied through omega 3 fatty acid. DHA plays a key role in cognition and brain development and is especially important in the development of a healthy kitten.
This is unsourced.
Protein is a macromolecule composed of multiple amino acids and also provides energy for the growing feline. Cats are naturally carnivores, and therefore require high amounts of protein in the diet. Kittens are undergoing growth and require high amounts of protein to provide essential amino acids that enable the growth of tissues and muscles. It is recommended kittens consume a diet containing 35-50% protein on a dry matter basis.
- Again, this is unsourced
- The first sentence is background information that's explained in much greater depth at the protein article. Just link things like this.
- Instead of saying that cats are "naturally" carnivorous (and ambiguous statement since "natural" has no firm definition) and require "high amounts of protein", provide sourced information about the amount of protein needed.
Cats also have specific amino acid requirements of those which are indispensable by the body. Arginine is required for the urea cycle in the cat and can cause hyperammonemia when intake is inadequate. Taurine is another essential amino acid found only in animal tissues. Since felines are carnivores, it is expected that they will consume taurine with each meal. Evolutionarily, it does not make sense for the feline to produce taurine and has therefore adapted to be unable to produce taurine in adequate amounts and therefore must be provided in the diet at 10 mg/kg bodyweight/day.
- The first sentence is filler. It doesn't include any specific information.
- The information here isn't specific to kittens - in fact, the first reference is to an article about adult cat dietary requirements. Make sure that you're adding information that's specific to kittens, and that comes from a source that's about kittens. Otherwise if doesn't belong in the article.
- "Since felines are carnivores, it is expected that they will consume taurine with each meal." Expected by whom? Why? This sounds like you're speculating.
Felids are natural carnivores and therefore do not intentionally consume large quantities of carbohydrates. The domestic cat's liver has adapted to the lack of carbohydrates in the diet by utilizing amino acids to produce glucose to fuel the brain and other tissues.[31]
- Avoid "therefore"; it sounds like you are drawing a conclusion. If you're going to make a statement like this, explicitly connect it with your source. Especially since this is a statement of intent about cats, not an observation about their behaviour.
Carbohydrate inclusion should be relatively low in the diet as studies have shown that carbohydrate digestion in young kittens is much less effective than that of a mature feline with a developed gastrointestinal tract.[32] Highly digestible carbohydrates can be found in commercial kitten food for some additional energy as well as a source of fiber to stimulate the immature gut tissue. Soluble fibre such as beet pulp is a common ingredient used as a fibrous stool hardener and has been proven to strengthen intestinal muscles and the thicken gut mucosal layer to prevent diarrhea.[33]
Leave out the first part, since it's clearly giving advice, which is against Wikipedia policy. Talk about the less developed carb digestion, talk about the problems with high-carb diets for kittens, but leave out the should.
Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 17:24, 20 November 2017 (UTC)
- You also used a source about bovine colostrum. Cats, obviously, aren't cattle. You need to find a relevant source. Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 17:26, 20 November 2017 (UTC)
User: Ian (Wiki Ed) thank you very much. Can you check my changes? Nmccarth2 (talk) 19:29, 28 November 2017 (UTC)
Edit summaries
[edit]Hello Nmccarth2. I hope you're enjoying your experience editing at Wikipedia. I'd like to make a small request: that you begin using edit summaries. Doing so will make it easier for your fellow editors to understand the reason for each edit you make. Sometimes the reason is not clear, and even when it is, it can take time to figure out. (Those of us with forty billion articles on our watchlist are very conscious of time.) Please see Help:Edit summary for more information. RivertorchFIREWATER 17:40, 8 December 2017 (UTC)