Why Do Cats Need Taurine?
Taurine is a colorless, crystalline compound which is found in the free
form in invertebrates and in the bile of mammals. It promotes the intestinal
absorption of lipids (fats) as cholesterol.
Taurine is an important part of the feline diet and is essential in
preventing a disorder in cats called dilated cardiomyopathy (which
is a failure of the heart muscle whereupon the heart tissue itself swells to
try to meet the animal's circulatory needs), as well as being very significant
in helping feline reproduction and prevention of a progressive retinal disease
called feline central retinal degeneration(FCRD) which will cause blindness if
left untreated.
In queens that have taurine-deficient diets, there are more still births,
fewer live kittens born, and ultimately fewer kittens that survive to the
weaning stage.
In the wild, rodents formed a large part of the feline diet, and the
rodents had significant levels of taurine in their brains.
When we began to domesticate cats and feed them commercial cat foods
instead of their wild diets, taurine deficiency started appearing.
This was of great concern, especially in the 1970's, when it was proven
that many commercial cat foods on the market at that time contained an
inadequate amount of taurine.
Cats are different from other animals in that they cannot make enough
taurine internally to meet their needs, and they must have enough taurine
supplied to them in their food.
Since these studies came out, most major pet food companies revised their
pet food formulas to include taurine. Interestingly enough, not all taurine is
equal, and some commercial foods need to have even more taurine added to their
formulas to allow for proper feline absorption and utilization of the taurine
in their foods.
Dear Alfred,
"Could you please tell me what a really good food to feed my kitty
would be?"
Alfred Says:
Thanks for asking a most important question. What
you feed your kitty will be the one single most important decision you will
ever make about their health.
There are so many, many foods out there and indeed a person does get
confused with so many choices.
We have a very good report that you can have, that will tell you some of
the things that pet food manufacturers are allowed to put in foods, and also
tell you what ingredients can be harmful for your pet, and what ingredients a
really good cat food should have.
To read this report, Go here:
http://petcaretips.net/petfood_ingredients.html
To read more about an Excellent Quality food, and the same food that we eat
and Absolutely Thrive on, Go here:
http://petcaretips.net/premium_cat_food.html
"Hi, just wanted you to know that I no longer have finicky eaters.
I have the dogs (4 of them) on the Zone, and my cat on that Life's Abundance
Food for Cats."
"You should see the cat's coat. She is absolutely gorgeous. Thank
you so much. More than that: Aylah, Sparky, Jonah and Sugar (the dogs) thank
you. And, the cat, Java Jive, thanks you because she is sooooo gorgeous."
Thanks again.
Elaine
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