Taurine and your cat’s diet

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and when a human or an animal eats proteins, the proteins must be broken down into amino acids before they can be digested. Some amino acids are classified as ‘essential', which means that the dietary protein must contain these amino acids in order to maintain health. Various species of mammals have different essential amino acid requirements. One of the most important differences between cats and other mammals is in the requirement for the amino acid known as taurine.

Most mammals manufacture taurine from other amino acids. However, cats cannot manufacture a sufficient amount and, therefore their diet must contain a rich-enough source of taurine to meet their needs. Taurine is found exclusively in animal-based proteins, which means that cats must eat meat proteins to avoid a taurine deficiency. Fortunately for the cat, taurine is easily absorbed from the diet. Unfortunately, it is not stored in large quantities in the body.

Taurine is an amino acid that is critical for normal vision, heart muscle function, pregnancy, fetal development, digestion, and a health immune system. If taurine levels are deficient, the retinal cells of the eyes will eventually degenerate, impairing the vision and eventually causing blindness. This condition is referred to as feline central retinal degeneration. Deficiency of taurine will lead to a weakening of the muscle cells in the heart, causing a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which will lead to heart failure. Clinical signs of taurine deficiency are slow to develop, taking between five months and two years to develop. If caught early enough, both the retinal degeneration and the cardiomyopathy may be reversible with dietary supplementation.

During pregnancy, a mother cat must have adequate levels of taurine to maintain her health and to ensure proper growth and structural development of her kittens. Low taurine levels result in small litter sizes and low birth weights.

Processing can affect taurine levels in the diet and increased dietary fiber can influence taurine absorption Dog food does not contain enough taurine to meet the normal requirements for a cat. Cat foods that contain high-quality animal-based protein will supply adequate levels of taurine for a normal, healthy cat. Taurine may be added to cat foods, especially diets that are formulated for specific needs such as pregnancy, growth, or heart disease. Your veterinarian may recommend a taurine supplement if your cat is ill, has any underlying health problems, or has been put on a weight loss program. Supplementation is relatively safe, with no reports of problems associated with excessive dietary taurine in the cat.

The best advice to keep your cat healthy is to feed her a high quality diet that is intended for her life stage. As your veterinary professional team, we would be happy to help you with your choices and to provide you with more information about this and other issues that could affect your cat's health.

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