Benefits of Taurine for Your Cat's Health
Cats are obligate carnivores. Unlike herbivores or omnivores, they are not able to synthesize the taurine they need from other amino acids like methionine and cysteine. In addition, many animal species can use glycine or taurine to conjugate bile acids into bile salts, but cats can only conjugate bile acids with it. This low rate of synthesis combined with the loss of it in bile contributes to an increased dietary requirement of taurine for cats. With insufficient amounts of this essential amino acid in their diet, cats can develop central retinal degeneration, reproductive failure and impaired fetal development or heart cardiomyopathy. Therefore, the Association of American Feed Control Officials, or AAFCO, recommends the minimum allowance of taurine for wet food to be 0.2% on a dry matter basis. The chance is that this amount might be covered by the natural taurine in meat alone, but due to a significant amount of variability of its concentrations in meat, high solubility in water, danger of delay in exhibiting clinical signs of deficiency and the fact that supplementation is relatively safe with no reports of any issues associated with overdose, it might be beneficial to always have a small amount of excess in your raw cat food. So a reasonable amount of taurine to add is approximately 250 mg of taurine per 1lb of meat. For the benefits of taurine, it provides 5 key benefits of cats which are ;Supports brain health : Taurine helps regenerate brain cells. It plays a critical nutritional role in brain cell growth, differentiation, and development.Maintains healthy eyesight in pets : Without Taurine, the retinas of cats may deteriorate. Reduces the risk of DCM in cats : Cats cannot synthesize taurine, that’s why they need it in their diet.Supports reproductive health : In cats, lack of taurine may lead to reproductive complications like reproductive failure or poor growth in kittens. Taurine also promotes reproductive health in cats and dogs.Protects the immune system : The fundamental role of taurine in the immune system is related to its antioxidant properties. Taurine protects tissues from oxidative stress associated with the pathology of various inflammatory diseases.
