To be digested by cats and dogs, starch must be very well cooked or it will ferment in the large intestine and cause diarrhoea.Too much starch can have the same result if the amount ingested exceeds the animal’s enzymatic digestive capacity.
Starches are carbohydrate molecules in which thousands of glucose molecules are linked together by simple chemical bonds.
Starches are used to provide energy to the animal, after being digested within the intestine.
Starches are found in cereals (rice, maize, wheat, barley, etc) and root vegetables like potato or cassava. Starch represents 50-70% of cereal grain. In dry diets, cereal starch helps obtain the typical honeycombed structure of the kibble.