Cat taurine is an essential dietary requirement for feline health. It’s a colorless, free existing amino sulphonic acid. It’s termed as a naturally occurring sulphonic acid. Cats, unlike most mammals, are unable to manufacture taurine from other amino acids. Taurine is therefore crucial for a cat’s health. Since taurine is only found in meat and fish but not in vegetables, cats need to eat meat products on a daily basis to meet their daily dietary requirement. They may also need to have taurine supplements added to their food.
Function of Taurine in Felines:
- Taurine is necessary for normal skeletal muscle functioning.
- It’s also essential for regulating the blood sugar level and body weight.
- It influences and regulates defects in nerve blood flow.
- It prevents liver disease.
- Deficiency of taurine can also cause tooth decay and hair loss.
- Taurine is necessary for heart muscle function. Deficiency of taurine causes dilation in the left region of the heart.
- It prevents the degeneration of the retina. Deficiency of taurine can cause lesions in the eye and degeneration of the retina resulting in total blindness.
- Multiple reproduction defects such as abortion, infertility, birth abnormalities in kittens are the result of taurine deficiency.
- Taurine is essential for the production of bile salts. Bile salts are vital for the digestion of fats.
Requirements
As a general guideline, an intake of 400 mg of taurine per kg of body weight is recommended for younger cats whereas for adult cats, an intake of 500 mg of taurine per kg of body weight is recommended. Studies suggest 75 to 100 mg of taurine per day should be supplied to the cat. According to other studies, for every 2.2 pounds of food consumed, it’s recommended that cats consume 1000 mg of taurine. It’s difficult to overdose the pet as excess taurine isn’t stored, but excreted. Formerly, wild cats ate rodents and ingested the taurine stored in rodents’ brains. However, with domestication, this source of taurine was no longer forthcoming. As the adverse effects of taurine deficiency started making an appearance, it became a cause of grave concern. Research has initiated the revision of the formulae of most pet commercial foods to include taurine.
Taurine Supplements for Cats Include:
- Vibrac pet tabs cat supplement with taurine
- Pro-Taur taurine supplement
- Thomas Laboratories Taurine Powder
- Evsco Felovite 2 with Taurine
- Douglas Labs Taurine
- Pet Ag Taurine
Prevention
If you feed home food to your pet, it’s wise to keep in mind that heat destroys taurine. Thus, it’s preferable to feed raw meat to cats than cooked meat as raw meat has 70 percent more taurine than cooked meat. Pet owners may also prefer to administer commercially available taurine supplements, particularly if they feed their pets homemade diets.
Cats suffering from taurine deficiency will exhibit response to taurine supplementation after nearly 3 to 4 months of administration. However, it’s best to follow up with vet checks if the cat is already suffering from cardiomyopathy associated with taurine deficiency.