Mary Allen
Taurine is an incredibly important ingredient in cat food. House tigers can only produce it to a small extent themselves and are dependent on a regular supply of food. How much that has to depends on various factors.
Taurine is contained in animal protein – in nature, velvet paws get their need for the important amino acids by eating mice. So if you have a farm cat that hunts mice every day, you usually don’t have to worry about your pet not getting enough taurine – but pet food manufacturers have usually taken precautions to ensure that the animals get enough of the nutrient.
Cat’s Taurine Requirement: Depends on Various Factors
How much taurine a cat needs can vary between 200 and 500 mg per day. Age, energy needs, metabolism, weight, lifestyle, and living conditions are some of the factors that affect a cat‘s exact daily taurine requirement.
A pregnant cat, for example, needs a little more – but since she also eats more during this time, the higher taurine intake should occur automatically. Lactating cat mothers also need more taurine than their conspecifics. The need for taurine often increases with age. If you are unsure, talk to your veterinarian about which cat food you are using and whether you should also feed a dietary supplement containing taurine.
Taurine in Raw Meat & Processed Food
Fresh raw meat and fresh fish are among the suppliers of amino acids. Muscle meat, heart, kidney, and lung have a particularly high content. If you feed raw meat, your cat is also getting the taurine it needs. Common types of cat food, regardless of whether they are wet or dry, are usually also sufficiently fortified.
Taurine levels are found to be around 1000mg/kg in most dry foods and around 2000mg/kg in wet foods – due to different feeding recommendations based on the other ingredients in each product, the figure may vary. If in doubt, ask your veterinarian. If a little too much taurine is fed, it will be excreted in the urine, which is why there is usually no need to fear an overdose.
What Happens with a Taurine Deficiency?
If your cat gets too little taurine over a longer period of time, this can have serious consequences for its health. It is particularly fatal for kittens that are not yet born if the mother-to-be is not sufficiently supplied with the amino acid. They either die as a fetus in the womb or are born with significant deformities that are associated with a shorter life expectancy.
Adult cats with a taurine deficiency, for example, suffer from a generally weak immune system or so-called retinal degeneration, an eye disease in which the retina is damaged and can lead to blindness. Heart disease in cats can also be caused by a lack of taurine, and deafness is one of the dangers of this nutrient deficiency. However, the symptoms, if at all, become noticeable after five months at the earliest, sometimes only after two years. Since the damage to health is irreparable, you should rather prevent the lack of taurine. With a balanced, species-appropriate diet, this is usually not a problem.
Cats that are fed too much plant-based food or even a purely vegetarian diet are at risk of a taurine deficiency. Feeding your cat dog food because you also have a four-legged friend at home can also be dangerous for them.