Dr Anna Kate Shoveller, PhD holder from the University of Alberta, is currently a Professor in the Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph. Previously, she was employed by Procter & Gamble and Mars Pet Care where she contributed to dog and cat nutrition. She has published over 190 peer-reviewed papers, contributed to multiple book chapters, and applied for multiple patents.
She has been awarded over 10 million grants and contracts since joining Guelph ten years ago. This impact was further recognized in 2021 when Shoveller was named the ‘Champion Petfoods Research Chair’ in Canine and Feline Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism and in 2023 when she was awarded a University of Guelph ‘Research Leadership Chair.’
Growing up on a hobby farm played an important role in shaping your career path. How did those early experiences influence your decision to pursue animal biology and nutrition research?
Growing up on a hobby farm, in the middle of large dairy, sheep and poultry operations in rural Ontario gave me an early appreciation for the complexity of caring for animals. You quickly learn that animal health is not determined by any single factor. Early on I was amazed at the human animal-bond, and this is another curiosity of mine that I continue to build on.
I wanted to understand why animals respond differently to the same conditions in feed or management and why seemingly small changes could have substantial effects on health and performance. That curiosity ultimately led me to study animal biology and then nutrition and metabolism.
The farm also grounded my approach to research. I have always been interested in science that answers fundamental biological questions but also has a clear application. Whether we are studying amino acids or energy metabolism, behaviour or physiological responses to the environment, I want the work to ultimately help people make better decisions for the animals in their care.
Your career spans both academia and industry, including roles with Mars Petcare and Procter & Gamble. How have these experiences shaped your approach to companion animal nutrition research?
My government, industry and academic experiences have been very complementary. The government taught me to consider the needs of the owner and how to provide knowledge and tools to support their animal ownership. Industry taught me to think carefully about relevance, scalability, and implementation. It is not enough to identify an interesting biological response. You must also ask whether the finding is meaningful to the animal, whether it can be translated into a product or feeding strategy and whether it can be communicated clearly to veterinarians, animal health key opinion leaders and pet owners.
Industry also gave me a strong appreciation for multidisciplinary research. Developing effective companion animal nutrition requires collaboration among nutritionists, physiologists, immunologists, toxicologists, veterinarians, food scientists, engineers, data managers, analytical scientists, regulatory specialists, marketers and advertisers. This is where my team-based approach was set and continues today, because ‘teamwork makes the dream work.’
Academia has given me the opportunity to investigate the underlying biology in greater depth and to pursue questions that may require several studies before they become directly applicable. It also allows me to develop critical thinking in the students and next generation and to challenge assumptions that have sometimes persisted in the field without sufficient evidence.
Together, these experiences have shaped an approach that is mechanistic but practical. I want to understand why nutritional intervention works, not simply whether it works, while focusing on outcomes that matter to animals and the people who care for them.
Much of your work has focused on amino acid metabolism, protein quality and macronutrient partitioning in dogs and cats. What do you see as the most exciting developments currently emerging in these areas?
One of the most exciting developments is the move away from treating dietary protein as a single, uniform nutrient. The industry is getting more refined and considering protein quality, not just quantity.
Stable-isotope methods and other advanced metabolic techniques allow us to determine amino acid requirements and metabolic availability of amino acids from ingredients with much greater precision. This is particularly important in cats, which have several unique features of amino acids and one-carbon metabolism that cannot simply be extrapolated from dogs, livestock, or humans.
I am also excited by our growing ability to understand how macronutrient composition influences energy expenditure and fuel utilization. Two diets with similar calculated energy values may produce different metabolic responses depending on their protein, fat and carbohydrate composition. This may be further compounded by micronutrients that can support energy and nutrient utilization or alter it. Understanding those differences may help us formulate more precisely for weight management, healthy ageing and performance.
Another important development is the evaluation of novel and alternative protein ingredients. The question should not simply be whether an ingredient contains enough crude protein, but whether the amino acids provide an available source that supports not only lean body mass, but functional aspects of the amino acids. We need to understand its amino acid profile, digestibility, bioavailability, effects on the gastrointestinal environment, peripheral tissue metabolism and ability to support long-term health.
Hence, I believe the field is moving toward more biologically precise definitions of protein quality and more individualized approaches to nutrient requirements. I am excited that this is being concurrently developed along with feeding devices which will allow us to alter when and how much we feed our animals, a branch of circadian physiology and it is getting applied to companion animals as well.
Your research often connects nutrition with behaviour, quality of life and longevity in companion animals. Why is it important for industry to take a more holistic approach to pet nutrition?
Nutrition does not operate in isolation; it is one input into the physiological response. A diet may meet every nutrient recommendation on paper and still fail to support the animal optimally if it does not account for feeding behaviour, lifestyle, activity, environment, health status or the realities of how the owner feeds the animal.
Companion animals are also living longer and occupying increasingly important roles within families. As a result, the goal is no longer simply to prevent nutrient deficiencies. We need to consider how nutrition can support mobility, cognition, body composition, gastrointestinal health, urinary health, resilience and overall quality of life throughout the animal’s lifespan.
Feeding management is also an important part of nutrition. Meal frequency, food format, feeding devices, access to water and the interaction between the owner and the animal can influence intake, behaviour and health outcomes. They can also shape the owner’s perception of whether a diet is working.
A holistic approach recognizes that a successful nutritional strategy must support the physiology of the animal while also being practical, acceptable and sustainable within the household. The best diet is not simply the one with the strongest formulation on paper. It is the one that delivers meaningful health benefits when fed in the real world.
Looking ahead, which trends do you believe will have the greatest influence on the next decade of companion animal nutrition?
Precision nutrition will have a major influence on the field. Dogs and cats are often discussed as relatively uniform populations, but nutrient needs and metabolic responses vary with breed, age, sex, reproductive status, activity, body composition, health status and environment. I expect we will become much better at identifying which animal benefits from specific dietary strategy and use real-time data to predict when, what and how that food is delivered.
As pets live longer, there will be greater emphasis on preserving lean body mass, mobility, cognitive function and metabolic health rather than simply extending lifespan. Quality of life will become the key metric and what is included in that evaluation will become much more refined. As such, I expect continued growth in the use of objective technologies. Wearable devices, continuous behavioural monitoring, advanced imaging, non-invasive sampling, and data analyses tools will allow us to measure how animals respond to diets in their normal environments and consider much bigger and diverse data sets than previously. However, these technologies will only be valuable if they are validated and used to answer biologically meaningful questions.
Sustainability and ingredient diversification will remain as primary drivers, including the use of pulses, insects, fermentation-derived ingredients and food-system co-products. The challenge will be to evaluate these ingredients rigorously rather than assuming that novel automatically means better or more sustainable. Screening these will need a collaborative approach at identifying the key outcomes needed to demonstrate safety and utility.
Finally, I believe the industry will face increasing pressure to demonstrate that nutritional claims are supported by high-quality evidence. That is a positive development. The next decade should bring a stronger integration of fundamental metabolism, clinical outcomes, behaviour, owner experience and long-term health. That integration will allow us to move from feeding pets adequately towards feeding them more precisely and supporting them throughout their lives.