A substance with a strange name Taurine even frightens some animal lovers who think that it is even harmful to cats. But the results of many studies lead to the opposite. The cardiac amino acid, discovered in 1827, plays a huge role in many vital processes, and its deficiency does not affect the general well-being of living beings.
Do you need Taurine in the feed for your cats?
This substance is necessary for our furry pets for several reasons. In humans or dogs, it has the ability to synthesize in the right amounts, but cats have lost this ability for many millennia. They prehistoric times hunted rats and mice, which have taurine even off scale, and thus replenished its deficiency in its body. They simply did not need to synthesize what is so much in the daily diet. But home handsome men go out hunting rarely and they start having problems from time to time. If taurine in the diet is small, cholesterol plaques can be formed much more quickly, degenerative changes occur in the tissues, fats are poorly absorbed, fertility declines, and poor development in kittens is observed.
Taurine - application
Vital Taurine for cats in dry food should be 0.1%, and in canned food not less than 0.2%. This has long been learned by manufacturers of quality products for animals. In professional feeds this substance is present by default, but in many cheap products it can be very little. Although this element is found in fish, beef, in most seafood or poultry, but during storage it has the property of disintegrating.
Determine the level of Taurine in the blood can be using laboratory analysis. Seeing the results, the doctor will calculate whether your pet needs additional vitamins for cats with Taurin. Only in a few cases there was an intolerance of some animals of this substance, which caused gastrointestinal disorders. Also, unnecessary Taurine should not be given to pregnant and lactating females. But the one that is present in natural foods is small and reasonable doses that will never harm a cat.