Dried Whole Black Soldier Fly Larvae Consumption Supports Gestation, Lactation, and Growth in Cats

This study evaluated the consumption of dried whole black soldier fly larvae (DBSFL) to meet the nutritional requirements of gestating and lactating cats and their kittens post-weaning. Queens (<i>n</i> = 8/treatment) were randomly assigned to a control diet or diets containing 20% DBSFL through gestation and lactation. Weaned kittens (<i>n</i> = 8/treatment) were maintained on their dams' diet for 10-weeks. There were no differences (<i>p</i> > 0.05) in the litter size, dietary intake, body weight, or fecal quality of the queens during the trial. The kittens receiving the DBSFL diet consumed more on an absolute or caloric basis than those fed the control diet at week 5 (<i>p</i> = 0.1) and week 10 (<i>p</i> = 0.03) and had higher body weights at weeks 6 through 10 (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The blood and urinalysis parameters were generally within normal ranges, with some variations observed between treatments that were not considered biologically significant. The dry matter, crude protein, and amino acid digestibility levels were higher in kittens fed the DBSFL diet (<i>p</i> = 0.05). These data are the first to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of DBSFL for the gestation and lactation of queens and for the growth of kittens, as well as its suitability in diets for cats of all life stages.