Taurine is an essential nutrient for cats that plays a crucial role in their health and well-being. Unlike many other mammals, cats cannot produce sufficient amounts of taurine themselves and are therefore dependent on an adequate dietary supply. You can find all the important information in this article.
Taurine is one of many nutrients that cats need to maintain a wide range of bodily functions. Taurine is an essential nutrient, which means that it cannot be produced in sufficient quantities by the cat's own body. It is vital to ingest it with food.
Taurine is a sulphur-containing amino acid, i.e. a protein building block, which was first isolated from bovine bile in 1827. It was named taurine after the Latin word for bull (taurus).
The highest levels of taurine have been found in heart muscle. The amino acid is found in large quantities in many different animal tissues. Taurine is not found in plants. The vital supply of taurine in the diet reflects the cat's adaptation as a pure carnivore to the prey animal mouse. Taurine occurs naturally in animal products, especially in:
A taurine deficiency can lead to serious health problems in cats. The most common symptoms are
Nowadays, taurine deficiency is practically unheard of in domestic cats.
The supply of taurine depends on the production process of the respective feed. As a general rule, the availability of taurine is lower in wet food, so that a higher minimum content is required. The FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation) is the European umbrella organization of the pet food industry.
It provides guidelines for the nutritional composition of cat and dog food. The FEDIAF recommendations on nutrient content are regularly reviewed and adapted in close cooperation with independent European scientists. According to the FEDIAF guidelines, food for active adult cats should contain the following minimum amounts of taurine:
These values take into account a safety buffer to compensate for possible losses. FEDIAF has not set a maximum amount for taurine in cat food.
Good to know for all pet owners: animonda ensures that its complete foods contain the levels recommended by FEDIAF for all nutrients!
So far there is no evidence that an overdose of taurine could be harmful to cats. Commercial cat foods therefore often contain more taurine than the recommended minimum amount to compensate for any losses through processing and storage.